Aid Statistics

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value is, as a proportion of recipient countries' gross domestic products, of  (a) UK and  (b) all bilateral and multilateral donors' aid to all countries in receipt of UK aid.

Hilary Benn: The value of official development assistance (ODA) and official aid (OA) in 2004 as a proportion of gross national income provided to recipient countries by  (a) the UK and  (b) all bilateral and multilateral donors is shown in Table 1. This information is collated by the Development Co-operation Directive of the OECD and is also available via its website at oecd.org/dac/stats. Data for 2005 are not yet available. Gross national income (GNI) comprises the total value of goods and services produced within a country (gross domestic product) together with its income received from other countries less similar payments made to other countries. Gross national income is the internationally preferred measure for aid comparison purposes.
	
		
			  Table 1: Total ODA/OA as percentage of GNI for recipients of UK aid, 2004 
			   UK  All donors 
			 Afghanistan 3.9 38.0 
			 Albania 0.1 4.7 
			 Algeria 0.0 0.4 
			 Angola 0.1 6.5 
			 Anguilla (1)— (1)— 
			 Antigua a Barbuda 0.0 0.2 
			 Armenia 0.2 7.1 
			 Azerbaijan 0.0 2.3 
			 Bangladesh 0.4 2.3 
			 Barbados (1)— (1)— 
			 Belarus 0.0 0.2 
			 Belize 0.0 0.7 
			 Bolivia 0.6 9.1 
			 Bosnia-Herzegovina 0.1 8.0 
			 Botswana 0.0 0.5 
			 Brazil 0.0 0.0 
			 Bulgaria 0.0 2.6 
			 Burkina Faso 0.1 12.7 
			 Burundi 1.5 54.8 
			 Cambodia 0.4 11.1 
			 Cameroon 0.2 5.3 
			 Chad 0.3 12.1 
			 Chile 0.0 0.1 
			 China 0.0 0.1 
			 Colombia 0.0 0.6 
			 Congo Democratic Republic (Zaire) 4.7 28.6 
			 Congo, Republic 0.1 3.5 
			 Costa Rica -0.1 0.1 
			 Cote d'Ivoire 0.0 1.1 
			 Croatia 0.0 0.4 
			 Cuba (1)— (1)— 
			 Dominica -1.4 11.6 
			 Dominican Republic 0.0 0.5 
			 Ecuador -0.1 0.6 
			 Egypt 0.1 1.9 
			 El Salvador 0.0 1.4 
			 Eritrea 0.6 28.4 
			 Ethiopia 1.8 22.8 
			 FYROM-Macedonia 0.1 4.8 
			 Gambia 0.1 15.9 
			 Georgia 0.1 6.3 
			 Ghana 3.1 16.0 
			 Grenada 0.2 4.0 
			 Guatemala 0.0 0.8 
			 Guinea 0.1 8.1 
			 Guyana 2.7 17.8 
			 Haiti 0.1 6.9 
			 Honduras 0.0 9.1 
			 India 0.1 0.1 
			 Indonesia 0.0 0.0 
			 Iran 0.0 0.1 
			 Iraq (1)— (1)— 
			 Jamaica 0.1 1.0 
			 Jordan 0.0 5.1 
			 Kazakhstan 0.0 0.7 
			 Kenya 0.3 4.1 
			 Korea, Dem. Rep. (1)— (1)— 
			 Kyrgyzstan 0.3 12.3 
			 Laos 0.1 11.7 
			 Lebanon 0.0 1.2 
			 Lesotho 0.4 6.0 
			 Liberia 4.3 55.1 
			 Madagascar 0.6 28.9 
			 Malawi 6.7 26.9 
			 Malaysia 0.0 0.3 
			 Maldives 0.1 3.9 
			 Mali 0.0 12.2 
			 Mauritania 0.0 14.5 
			 Mauritius 0.0 0.6 
			 Mexico 0.0 0.0 
			 Moldova 0.2 4.1 
			 Mongolia 0.5 17.3 
			 Montserrat (1)— (1)— 
			 Morocco 0.0 1.4 
			 Mozambique 1.3 23.7 
			 Myanmar (Burma) (1)— (1)— 
			 Namibia 0.0 3.0 
			 Nepal 1.0 6.4 
			 Nicaragua 0.3 28.9 
			 Niger 0.3 17.5 
			 Nigeria 0.2 1.0 
			 Pakistan 0.1 1.5 
			 Palestinian adm. areas (1)— (1)— 
			 Panama 0.0 0.3 
			 Paraguay 0.0 0.3 
			 Peru 0.0 0.7 
			 Philippines 0.0 0.5 
			 Romania 0.0 1.3 
			 Russia 0.0 0.2 
			 Rwanda 3.2 25.8 
			 Senegal 0.1 13.9 
			 Serbia and Montenegro 0.0 4.9 
			 Seychelles 0.0 1.5 
			 Sierra Leone 5.8 34.3 
			 Singapore 0.0 0.0 
			 Slovak Republic 0.0 0.6 
			 Slovenia 0.0 0.2 
			 Somalia (1)— (1)— 
			 South Africa 0.0 0.3 
			 Sri Lanka 0.1 2.7 
			 St. Helena (1)— (1)— 
			 St. Lucia -4.1 -3.2 
			 St. Vincent and Grenadines 0.0 2.7 
			 States of ex Yugoslavia (unspecified) (1)— (1)— 
			 Sudan 0.6 4.9 
			 Swaziland 0.1 4.8 
			 Syria 0.0 0.5 
			 Tajikistan 0.1 12.0 
			 Tanzania 2.0 16.2 
			 Thailand 0.0 0.0 
			 Timor-Leste 0.1 31.6 
			 Togo 0.0 3.0 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 0.0 0.0 
			 Turkey 0.0 0.1 
			 Turkmenistan 0.0 0.6 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands (1)— (1)— 
			 Uganda 1.6 17.3 
			 Ukraine 0.0 0.6 
			 Uzbekistan 0.0 2.1 
			 Venezuela 0.0 0.0 
			 Vietnam 0.2 4.1 
			 Yemen 0.1 2.1 
			 Zambia 5.4 20.7 
			 Zimbabwe (1)— (1)— 
			 (1) GNI figure is not available  Note: 0.0 per cent. means less than 0.05 per cent.  Source: DAC On-line (Reference Section: Total Net ODA/OA DAC2a)

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department each year since 2001-02; and how many civil servants received bonuses in each year.

Gareth Thomas: The following tables give the number of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff in each of the last four years (figures for 2001-02 are not available) together with the total costs in each of those years.
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants (SCS) 
			   Number of awards  Total cost (£) 
			 2002-03 27 85,051 
			 2003-04 57 189,500 
			 2004-05 68 266,750 
			 2005-06 65 377,100 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff below SCS 
			   Number of awards  Total cost (£) 
			 2002-03 323 292,528 
			 2003-04 654 285,601 
			 2004-05 508 230,600 
			 2005-06 1,106 515,865

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria a civil servant in his Department must fulfil  (a) to be considered for a bonus on top of their regular salary and  (b) to be awarded a bonus.

Gareth Thomas: Different arrangements apply to the bonus awards paid to senior civil servants (SCS) and those paid to staff in grades below the SCS.
	 Senior civil servants (SCS)
	In addition to base pay increases, SCS are eligible for non-consolidated bonus awards. Bonuses are intended to reward delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year, or other short-term personal contributions to wider organisational objectives. In considering SCS staff for bonuses, line managers are asked to take into account:
	performance against agreed priority business objectives or targets;
	total delivery record over the year;
	relative stretch (i.e. the challenge of the job compared to that of others); and
	responses to unforeseen events.
	DFID's SCS Pay Committee considers line managers' recommendations and make their final decision on who should receive a bonus award based on the evidence provided.
	 Staff below the SCS
	DFID operates a Special Achievement Award (SAA) scheme for staff below the SCS. The scheme rewards and recognises staff (both individuals and teams) who make a special contribution in line with DFID values. Awards can be made throughout the year. To be eligible for consideration for an award, individuals or teams need to complete a piece of work or make a sustained effort that makes a special contribution to the work of DFID.
	Because of the wide range of work undertaken by DFID, both at home and overseas, we have not defined broad criteria across the organisation as a whole. Directors define and publish specific criteria for Special Achievement Awards within their Divisions. This will typically include:
	sustained effort in unusual circumstances;
	a one off high quality contribution;
	innovative thinking which helps the office operate more efficiently; and
	going the "extra mile" to achieve a particular task or objective.
	Nominations for SAAs are passed to Directorsfor consideration and are marked successful or unsuccessful. Directors share their Divisional criteria with fellow Directors for information, with the aim of promoting consistency across DFID.

Climate Change Adaptation Fund

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution the UK has made to the Climate Change Adaptation Fund agreed on 14 November at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change CoP12 Conference in Nairobi.

Hilary Benn: The Adaptation Fund is not yet operational. The recent 12th Conference of Parties (CoP12) to the Climate Change Convention agreed some elements of operational guidance for the fund. We expect that other key elements of guidance, such as the management agency, will be agreed at CoP13 in 2007, so that the fund can become operational in 2008.
	The fund will be financed primarily from a 2 per cent. levy on the value of emission offset projects in developing countries under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
	The UK Government have committed a total of£20 million to the UN Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and the UN Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) which have been operational since 2004 and 2005 respectively. The UK is the largest donor to the SCCF and the second largest donor to the LDCF.

Darfur

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the likely impact on international aid projects in the region of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force due to enter Darfur; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: It is crucial that the arrangements for the AU / UN joint peace keeping force for Darfur are fully agreed by the Government of Sudan. They also need to agree the other elements of the conclusions of the Addis Ababa meeting, including a ceasefire and the resumption of the political process in Darfur.
	The planned UN reinforcement of AMIS, of which the hybrid force is the third stage, should provide much needed increased security and protection for millionsof civilians. It should also provide the conditions necessary to enable the international humanitarian agencies reach the people who are in desperate need of assistance.

Departmental Statistics

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which statistics have been put forward by his Department for consideration to become new national statistics in each of the last five years; and how many statistics sets his Department has produced in total in each of the last five years.

Hilary Benn: The current list of National Statistics produced by DFID can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ns_ons/nsproducts/default.asp
	A list of changes to the scope of National Statistics (additions and withdrawals) in each of the last five years can be found in the relevant National Statistics annual report available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1051
	In addition to National Statistics, the DFID publishes a wide range of other numerical information in a variety of forms including other data produced from the management and administration of the department and in research reports. There is no consistent definition of the term "statistics sets" and no centrally held information on the total published in each year on this basis.

EU Association Agreements

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of Statefor International Development 
	(1)  what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the Association Agreements the EU will begin negotiating in January 2007 with Latin American countries are consistent with the UK's development policy;
	(2)  what assessment he has made on the progress of the negotiations on the EU-Latin America Association Agreements; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the impactthe Association Agreements which the EU will begin negotiating in January 2007 with Latin American countries will have on efforts to meet the millennium development goals in that region;
	(4)  what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with (i) the European Commission and (ii) other EU member states on plans for impact assessments for Latin American countries to be carried out on the EU-Latin America Association Agreements.

Gareth Thomas: The UK Government continue to closely assess negotiations on the various Association Agreements (AA) proposed between the EU and Latin America (EU-LA). Progress towards an EU-Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and since July, Venezuela) AA has been slower than the UK would have wished, though ultimately the overall substance is significantly more important than the timing. The UK remains committed to an ambitious, balanced and mutually beneficial agreement, and believe it will be important for our strategic partnership with Latin America. Agreements between EU-Andean Community (CAN) and EU-Central America (CA) are in the formative stages of negotiations, having been launched earlier in the year. The European Commission is expected to adopt draft negotiating directives on future agreements with CA and CAN early in December. We will have the further opportunity to discuss these shortly thereafter in various EU-LA working groups in Brussels, which we regularly attend.
	The Community of Andean Nations (CAN) and the Central America countries (CA) have been deepening their relations with the EU over recent years. At the EU-Latin America Caribbean (LAC) Ministerial Summit, held in Guadalajara in 2004, the EU committed to starting negotiations for Association Agreements with both the Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), and with the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela—Venezuela withdrew from CAN in April 2006, and has since joined Mercosur). These commitments were made with the proviso that the respective Latin American regions first undertake a satisfactory level of regional economic integration, to be evaluated by joint assessment exercises.
	Following a positive outcome of the joint assessment exercise on regional economic integration carried out with Central America, the May 2006 Vienna EU-LAC Ministerial Summit agreed to launch negotiations for an Association Agreement between the EU and the Central American countries. The draft negotiating directives for an EU-CA Association Agreement are expected to be ready for discussion at the Commission's Latin American working group, AMLAT, in December.
	DFID has been supporting small enterprises and rural producers in Central America to prepare for their participation in the negotiations. DFID has also been working locally with the European Commission and International Financial Institutions to ensure their support to small enterprises will enable them to participate fully in the trade opportunities the negotiations will present. This will help ensure that the increased trading between the two regions will actively contribute to efforts to meet the millennium development goals in Central America.
	In South America, the Government of Chile and the EU will be holding their first meeting with civil society representatives later this month in the framework of the Chile-EU Association Agreement.
	The EU-LAC Joint Declaration issued at the Vienna Summit in May this year reiterated the importance placed on:
	"enhanced cooperation between both regions in order to achieve higher levels of social cohesion, and it welcomed the Joint EU Statement on "The European Consensus on Development" which puts poverty eradication at the core of EU Development cooperation, in the context of sustainable development, including the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and which applies to all developing countries".
	In regard to the Andean Community, the respective joint assessment concluded that the level of CAN regional economic integration was not sufficient to progress to similar negotiations. It was therefore recommended at the Vienna Summit that the CAN and EU should hold further meetings to reach agreement on clearly defined areas of cooperation. A subsequent High Level Meeting between the Commission and the remaining CAN countries in July, concluded that sufficient clarity on areas of cooperation had been reached, and the next step should be for the representatives of CAN and the Commission to initiate internal consultations and undertake the necessary steps allowing for the launch of negotiations for an Association Agreement between the EU and the Andean Community.

Annual Canvass (Armed Forces)

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what work the Electoral Commission has carried out during the annual canvass to encourage members of the armed services to register to vote; and what the impact of the work has been.

Peter Viggers: The Commission informs me that, together with the Ministry of Defence (MOD), it has launched a campaign in support of the annual canvass to encourage service personnel to register. This has involved sending over 250,000 registration leaflets to over 4,000 military units across the globe; appointing 'Unit Registration Officers' who arranged 'Service Electoral Registration Days' within units; placing registration reminder messages on service personnel payslips; and publishing articles in a range of service publications. Electoral Registration Officers have been encouraged to work closely with Unit Registration Officers to maximise registration and to monitor the success of the campaign.
	The Commission and the MOD will be conducting a thorough evaluation of the campaign, which will include the MOD repeating the survey it conducted during the 2005 annual canvass to monitor registration levels and awareness among service personnel. The results from this will be available in spring 2007. Initial evidence suggests that this year's campaign has been more successful in encouraging service personnel to register than that in 2005.

Aircraft Crashes

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what aircraft crashes there have been in England in each of the last five years; which of these involved a Cessna 206 aircraft; and in which cases there were resulting fatalities.

Gillian Merron: The following table details the number of reportable accidents and incidents in the UK over the last five years investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), in accordance with the 'Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 1996'.
	The 'Report Form' figure indicates accidents/incidents in the UK dealt with by correspondence only, with a report form being completed by the commander of an aircraft.
	The 'Field' figure represents the more serious accidents and incidents investigated by a team of AAIB inspectors, usually deployed to the scene of an accident/incident. This 'Field' figure includes all fatal accidents in the UK (also quoted separately).
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Report Form 220 257 168 243 240 
			 Field 67 82 67 78 78 
			 Fatal accidents 12 15 18 18 13 
		
	
	
		
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Cessna 206  
			 Report form 0 1 0 2 0 
			 Field 1 0 1 0 0 
			 Fatal accidents 0 0 1 0 0 
		
	
	All AAIB UK Cessna 206 investigations since beginning of 2002:
	
		
			  Date  Aircraft type  Registration  Location  Invest type  Fatal/Non-fatal 
			 5 May 2002 Cessna U206F G-BAGV Strathallan Airfield, Perthshire Field Non-fatal accident 
			 24 August 2003 Cessna U206F G-STAT Strathallan Airfield, Perthshire Report Form Non-fatal accident 
			 27 June 2004 Cessna U206F G-BGED Beacon Village, near Honiton, Devon Field Fatal accident 
			 9 October 2005 Cessna U206 G-ATCE Lewknor, Oxfordshire Report Form Non-fatal accident 
			 20 October 2005 Cessna U206F G-BMHC Tilstock Airfield Preesheath, Whitchurch, Shropshire Report Form Non-fatal accident

Airline Services

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the impact of Manchester Airport's  (a) proposed expansion and  (b) proposed increase in night flights on neighbouring communities.

Gillian Merron: The last assessment of the impact of UK airport expansion was the 2003 White Paper, 'The Future of Air Transport'. This supported growth at Manchester airport, provided it was environmentally acceptable, and identified three key issues to inform the airport's expansion plans and their consideration by the planning system:
	(a) There should be the maximum reduction in noise levels, to minimise the number of people affected—including stringent limits on day and night-time noise, looking at least 10 years ahead;
	(b) Growth does not jeopardise air quality standards, which should be thoroughly monitored and evaluated;
	(c) The airport should work closely with local and regional partners to limit traffic growth—including better traffic management and, possibly, road user charging. Motorway improvements should be in harmony with environmental goals.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department each year since 2001-02; and how many civil servants received bonuses ineach year.

Gillian Merron: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1562W.

Cessna Crash (June 2004)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the  (a) members of theAir Accidents Investigation Branch and  (b) other individuals involved in the investigation of the crash of a Cessna 206 aircraft in June 2004 which resulted in the death of Dr. Paul Norman; and what contact there has been between officials in his Department and officials from the Ministry of Defence on this crash.

Gillian Merron: The AAIB Inspectors involved were
	One Principal Inspector
	One Senior Inspector—Operations
	One Senior Inspector—Engineering
	One Senior Inspector—Engineering (Flight Recorders)
	There was no contact between officials of the AAIB and officials from the MOD with respect to this accident and its investigation.

CIA Gulfstream Jet

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the  (a) starting destination and  (b) final destination were of the 80 flights by CIA Gulfstream jet registration N379P which took place between 2001 and 2003; what other information his Department holds on these flights; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many of the 80 flights by CIA Gulfstream jet registration N379P in 2001 to 2003  (a) refuelled at airports in the UK,  (b) landed at airports in the UK,  (c) passed through UK airspace without landing and  (d) collected individuals from the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1053W. The data published on the Department's website include all of the flight plan information that the Department holds in respect of Gulfstream jet registration N379P.

Crossrail

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent on the Crossrail project, broken down by financial year.

Tom Harris: In 2001, the then Secretary ofState allocated £154 million to Cross London Rail Links Ltd. (CLRL) to introduce and support the Crossrail hybrid Bill, currently before Parliament.This was followed by a further allocation to CLRL of £100 million in December 2005 for continued project development. In addition, the Department's Bill and project development teams have incurred costs.
	Crossrail costs broken down by years are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  CLRL costs  DfT costs 
			 2001-02 5.3 — 
			 2002-03 25.2 — 
			 2003-04 31.5 1.45 
			 2004-05 44.4 2.66 
			 2005-06 42.6 3.66 
			 2006-07 (1)47 (2)2.12 
			 (1 )to 14 October 2006 (2 )to end October 2006

Drink/Drug Driving

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents were caused by drink driving in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 9 October 2006,  Official Report, column 256W.

Drink/Drug Driving

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road accident fatalities were caused by or contributed to by driving under the influence of drugs in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: There were 59 fatalities resulting from personal injury road accidents in which at least one driver had 'impaired by drugs (illicit or medicinal)' as a contributory factor. These data are available only from 2005.

Drink/Drug Driving

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on publicising the risks of driving under the influence of drugs in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Communications warning of the dangers of drug driving form part of the Department's THINK! road safety campaign. The Government are investing around £15 million in the THINK! campaign in this fiscal year.
	The campaign advertising costs for the THINK! drug driving campaign since the 2002-03 fiscal year are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2002-03 nil 
			 2003-04 138,000 
			 2004-05 150,000 
			 2005-06 223,000 
			 2006-07 (1)350,000 
			 (1) Expected outturn 
		
	
	The drug drive campaign is very targeted to a niche audience, who, following research, appear to be the most likely to drug drive.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what targets the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has for responding to complaints; and how many complaints received by  (a) telephone,  (b) letter and  (c) electronic mail the DVLA responded to within those target times in each year since 1997, broken down by type of complaint.

Stephen Ladyman: DVLA has two internal targets for responding to complaints. These are:
	1. To acknowledge all complaints within one working day; and
	2. To provide a substantive response to all complaints within10 working days.
	Information on how the complaints were received is not available.
	The following table shows how many complaints were received and how the DVLA performed against each target in the years requested.
	
		
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02 
			  Category—complaints received  
			 Drivers (including Drivers Medical) 250 384 908 597 553 
			 Vehicles 913 1,173 1,101 983 2,115 
			 Telephone Service 198 134 157 137 142 
			 Processing Procedures 5 6 18 322 212 
			 Other 102 119 195 398 570 
			 Total 1,468 1,816 2,379 2,437 3,592 
			   
			  Numbers and percentage responded within target( 1)  
			  Target 1  
			 Number 1,458 1,816 2,379 2,437 3,592 
			 Percentage 99.3 100 100 100 100 
			   
			  Target 2  
			 Number 1,449 1,765 2,303 2,240 3,467 
			 Percentage 98.7 97.2 96.8 91.9 96.5 
		
	
	
		
			  Category  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Complaints received 
			 Drivers (including Drivers Medical) 684 1,028 812 679 
			 Vehicles 1,747 2,357 2,560 1,813 
			 Telephone Service 122 119 111 67 
			 Processing Procedures 236 331 614 407 
			 Other 600 741 680 1,567 
			 Total 3,389 4,576 4,777 4,490 
			  
			  Numbers and percentage responded within target( 1) 
			  Target 1 
			 Number 3,389 4,576 4,777 4,490 
			 Percentage 100 100 100 100 
			  
			  Target 2 
			 Number 3,295 4,458 4,663 3,529 
			 Percentage 97.2 97.4 97.6 78.6 
			 (1) Totals only available

First Great Western

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will urgently investigate the reliability of the 125 fleet on the Great Western lines; and what discussions he has had with First Great Western on its refurbishment and replacement programme.

Tom Harris: I have held a number of meetings with First Great Western and Network Rail to discuss a range performance issues. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and FGW to address these issues and are monitored monthly.
	The first modified First Great Western High Speed Train ('HST') power cars have already entered service. My officials meet FGW regularly to review progress on the HST refurbishment and modification programme.

Hit-and-run Drivers

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personal injury road accidents involving one or more hit and run drivers or riders there were in each year from 1997 to 2004, broken down by police force; and how many  (a) fatalities,  (b) serious injuries and  (c) other injuries resulted from these accidents.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 18 April 2006,  Official Report, column 52W.

Left-hand Drive HGVs

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what percentage of reported traffic incidents involved a heavy goods vehicle with left hand drive in each of the last five years; and what percentage of those incidents were attributed to poor visibility or blind spots on such vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: 1,014 personal injury road accidents reported to the police in 2005 involved a left hand drive heavy goods vehicle, 0.5 per cent. of all personal injury road accidents in 2005. In 32 per cent. of these accidents the heavy goods vehicles had 'vehicle blind spot' as a contributory factor. This information is not available for years prior to 2005.

Lifeboats

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the full call out figures are for each lifeboat station in the UK in the last 12 months.

Stephen Ladyman: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and independent lifeboat operators are not operated by the Government and the information is not collected in the form requested. However the RNLI lifeboats including those in the Republic of Ireland were launched 8,273 times in 2005. Other independent lifeboats were launched 831 timesin 2005.

Railways

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) locomotives,  (b) multiple units,  (c) freight wagons and  (d) carriages are in use on the rail network, broken down by (i) train operating company and (ii) class.

Tom Harris: Tables giving details of the number of locomotives, multiple units and carriages used by UK franchised passenger train operators, broken down by train operating company and class has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Vehicles operated by non-franchised operators such as Network Rail, open access and charter operators are not included. The Department does not hold information relating to the numbers of freight vehicles used on the network.
	This information is based on latest available data but minor variations in the figures can be expected due to ongoing activities such as short-term vehicle hiring, introduction of new fleets and withdrawal of older vehicles.

Road Network

David Mundell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether revenue raised from road pricing schemes will be used to upgrade existing motorways and trunk roads.

Stephen Ladyman: For a road pricing scheme on local roads, under the Transport Act 2000 local authorities in England and Wales are required to use any net revenues raised to help deliver their Local Transport Plan for at least the first 10 years of the scheme.
	Local authorities may also propose pricing on trunk roads as part of a local scheme. In this case, under current legislation net revenues may be apportioned between the local authority and the Secretary of State. Decisions on this would be taken on a case by case basis. Revenues accruing to the Secretary of State would be hypothecated for transport spending.
	No such pricing scheme proposals have yet been put forward. The forthcoming Road Transport Bill will seek to improve the ability of local authorities to introduce schemes. A priority will be to ensure that local schemes offer a fair deal to all road users, including public transport users. Local authorities will be asked to decide what works best for their area.
	Road pricing in Scotland is a devolved matter.

Road Safety

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fatalities occurred in each year between 2000 and 2005 as a result of motor accidents in the Humberside region.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of fatalities that occurred in each year between 2000 and 2005 as result of personal injury road accidents reported to the police involving motor vehicles in the Humberside police force area are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Fatalities resulting from accidents involving motor vehicle in Humberside( 1) : 2000-05 
			   Fatalities 
			 2000 47 
			 2001 54 
			 2002 49 
			 2003 63 
			 2004 59 
			 2005 71 
			 (1) Includes Kingston Upon Hull, North East Lincolnshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire unitary authorities.

Road Safety

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much profit was generated by Humberside Safety Camera Partnership in 2004-05; and how this profit was  (a) distributed and  (b) spent;
	(2)  how much revenue was raised by the Humberside Safety Camera Partnership in 2004-05; and how much and what percentage of this revenue was spent on improving road safety in the Humberside region that year.

Stephen Ladyman: Safety Camera Partnerships do not make profits; rather they enforce laws which are important for road safety, just as police do through other means.
	The audit certificate for the Humberside Safety Camera Partnership for the financial year shows that fines from conditional offer of fixed penalties for offences detected during 2004-05 was £2,548,140. The amount returned to the partnership to improve road safety within the Humberside area for the sameperiod via the netting off process was £2,181,397(85.6 per cent.).
	The 'netting off' funding arrangement for safety cameras is being ended after 2006-07 and from 2007-08 safety cameras and their funding are to be integrated into the Local Transport Plan system (in England outside London) alongside other road safety measures.
	This will give greater flexibility to local authorities, the police and the other agencies to pursue which ever locally agreed mix of road safety measures will make the greatest contribution to reducing road casualties in their area. It will also provide greater financial stability and facilitate long term planning.

Roads

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average maintenance expenditure per mile of road on  (a) A roads and  (b) B roads was in each region in the last period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The relevant data are not currently compiled to show information for B roads separately from other non-principal roads. The available data for local roads in England are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Maintenance expenditure per km of road length, England, 2004-05 
			  £ per km 
			  Region  Principal roads  Non-principal roads 
			 East of England 24,492 5,967 
			 East Midlands 16,640 5,541 
			 North East 18,643 6,778 
			 North West 24,585 8,110 
			 South East 19,081 6,050 
			 South West 17,738 4,243 
			 West Midlands 20,447 5,798 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 18,355 5,346 
			 London 157,313 16,086 
			 England 28,473 6,366 
		
	
	Equivalent figures for Highways Agency maintained A roads are not readily available. Table 7.13 in Transport Statistics Great Britain, a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House, provides estimates of Highways Agency expenditure on roads in Government Office Regions; however, this does not separately identify expenditure on maintenance from that on new construction, road improvements and winter servicing.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average 24-hour traffic volumewas at the  (a) J3-J4E,  (b) J4A-J5,  (c) J9-J10,  (d) J10-J10A,  (e) J10A-J11,  (f) J12-J13,  (g) J6-J7 and  (h) J9-J10 automatic traffic counters on the M6 on(i) Mondays to Fridays, (ii) Saturdays and (iii) Sundays in each month since April 2005.

Stephen Ladyman: The traffic flows for the period from April 2005 to September 2006 are provided in a table, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average 24-hour traffic volume was at the  (a) J6-J7 and  (b) J9-J10 automatic traffic counters on the M42 on (i) Mondays to Fridays,(ii) Saturdays and (iii) Sundays in each month since January 2006.

Stephen Ladyman: The traffic flows for the period January to September 2006 are provided in a table, which has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of  (a) the net change in UK carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the road schemes approved through the targeted programme of improvements and local transport plans since 1998 and  (b) the effect on annual carbon dioxide emissions of each road scheme approved by Ministers through the local transport plans since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 6 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 684-5W, to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling). I also refer to the answer that I gave on8 May 2006,  Official Report, column 23W.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what total length of roads has been detrunked in each  (a) county council and  (b) unitary authority area since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The following tables list total route lengths transferred to local highway authorities in England under the White Paper 'New Deal for Trunk Roads in England'.
	
		
			  Route lengths transferred to county councils 
			  Local highway authority  Total (km) 
			 Bedfordshire 54 
			 Buckinghamshire 29.56 
			 Cambridgeshire 79 
			 Cheshire 187.8 
			 Cornwall 76 
			 Cumbria 133.57 
			 Derbyshire 137.3 
			 Devon 95 
			 Durham 36 
			 Gloucestershire 84 
			 Hampshire 23 
			 Hertfordshire 102.452 
			 Kent 30 
			 Lancashire 94.15 
			 Leicestershire 65 
			 Lincolnshire 251.9 
			 Norfolk 49.1 
			 North Yorkshire 69.86 
			 Northamptonshire 47.8 
			 Northumberland 63.6 
			 Nottinghamshire 90.2 
			 Oxfordshire 97.8 
			 Shropshire 80.9 
			 Staffordshire 51.61 
			 Suffolk 60 
			 Warwickshire 37.5 
			 Grand total 2,127.10 
		
	
	
		
			  Route lengths transferred to metropolitan councils 
			  Local highway authority  Total (km) 
			 Bradford City 15 
			 Calderdale 20.26 
			 Doncaster 21 
			 Knowsley 6 
			 Leeds City 46.4 
			 Liverpool City 0.3 
			 Rotherham 9.5 
			 Salford City 4.5 
			 Sefton 23.86 
			 St Helens 19.83 
			 Stockport 7.4 
			 Tameside 1 
			 Wigan 13.2 
			 Wirral 10 
			 Grand total 198.25 
		
	
	
		
			  Route lengths transferred to unitary councils 
			  Local highway authority  Total (km) 
			 City of York 23 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 50.5 
			 North East Lincolnshire 1 
			 North Lincolnshire 9 
			 Nottingham City 7 
			 Peterborough City 5 
			 Rutland 19.5 
			 Slough 4 
			 Swindon 3.7 
			 Telford & Wrekin 13.4 
			 Warrington 1.5 
			 West Berkshire 10.8 
			 Grand total 148.4 
		
	
	Additionally, 275.98 kms of cross boundary routes has been de-trunked under the programme. It is not possible to separate this figure by local highway authority as the associated statutory instruments do not provide detail on how these routes were divided.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles on average used the M6 toll motorway in each month since January  (a) in total and  (b) on (i) workdays and (ii) weekends and public holidays.

Stephen Ladyman: Traffic figures for the M6 Toll are published on the M6 Toll operator's website:
	www.m6toll.co.uk
	The daily averages of vehicles using the M6 Toll during the period from January to September 2006 in total, on work days and on weekends and public holidays have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the budgeted expenditure by his Department is for 2006-07.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement of 21 November 2006,  Official Report, column 30WS.

Departmental Expenditure

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to reduce the expenditure of his Office; and if he will make a statement.

John Prescott: All Government Departments are run in order to enable Ministers to best fulfil their duties with the maximum economyand efficiency, in accordance with Government Accounting.

Departmental Staff

Roger Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many  (a) marketing officers,  (b) communications officers and  (c) press officers are employed in his Department; and what the total expenditure on communications for his Department was on (i) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (ii) other (A) press officers, (B) special advisers and (C) staff in the last year for which figures are available.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 26 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2081W. For information relating to the period prior to 5 May 2006, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Ministerial Visits

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many civil servants accompanied him on his recent trip to the Far East.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him to a very similar question on 26 October 2006,  Official Report, column 2082W.

Parliamentary Questions

Oliver Heald: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department uses an internal traffic lightor colour coded system in relation to written parliamentary questions; and whether his Department grades or classifies written parliamentary questions according to their political sensitivity.

John Prescott: No, my Department does not. However, my Department endeavours to reply to all parliamentary questions within parliamentary deadlines.

Arts Council

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Arts Council England in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The number of full-time equivalent staff was:
	
		
			   Total 
			 1996-97 206 
			 1997-98 273 
			 1998-99 279 
			 1999-2000 201 
			 2000-01 200 
			 2001-02 690 
			 2002-03 698 
			 2003-04 707 
			 2004-05 816 
			 2005-06 853 
		
	
	The rise in 2001-02 reflects the merger of the10 regional arts boards into a single organisation.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff were employed through employment agencies in  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and its executive agency, the Royal Parks, employ temporary agency staff on the basis of a booking which can last from as little as one day to many months. The number of individual bookings in each of the last five years, for which centrally held information is available, is as follows:
	
		
			   DCMS  Royal Parks 
			 2005-06 86 23 
			 2004-05 89 11 
			 2003-04 106 14 
			 2002-03 86 (1)— 
			 2001-02 92 (1)— 
			 (1 )Not available. 
		
	
	There are 13 temporary agency staff currently working in the Department and nine in the Royal Parks.
	The other information requested could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether people employed  (a) through employment agencies and  (b) on a consultancy basis are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in her Department's annual report.

David Lammy: In the Staff Numbers table on page 116 of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's annual report, the data for full-time equivalent staff does not include people employed through  (a) agencies (as the footnote makes clear) and  (b) on a consultancy basis.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's annual budget is for employing workers on a consultancy basis; and how much of this budget was used in each of the last five years for which records are available.

David Lammy: The Department's accounting system records costs for all consultancy services under management consultants, IT consultants, other consultants and other professional advice. The Department uses consultants for a variety of purposes and much of the Department's expenditure on this will not have been used for consultants working in the Department. There are currently eight consultants employed and working in the Department and one person on secondment from a consultancy firm. The total cost to the Department of using all consultancy services in each of the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			 2001-02 318,416.80 
			 2002-03 469,480.60 
			 2003-04 473,785.35 
			 2004-05 643,924.27 
			 2005-06 1,297,321.33 
			 2006-07(1) 560,052.67 
			 (1) Spend to date.

Digital Dividend Review

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) current and  (b) future spectrum usage estimates are being used by Ofcom in the preparation of its consultation paper on the digital dividend.

Shaun Woodward: The digital dividend review isthe responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom), as independent regulator. I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofcom to reply. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Listed Buildings

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) barns and  (b) other agricultural buildings are listed Grade II and above in each county in England.

David Lammy: There are currently 19,937 barns listed at grade II and above. A breakdown by county is shown in the table.
	Information on other agricultural buildings is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, figures from "Heritage Counts", the annual report on state of England's historic environment, show that in 2005 there were 69,000 agricultural buildings, including barns, with list entries.
	
		
			  County  Number of listed barns 
			 Avon 213 
			 Bedfordshire 151 
			 Berkshire 246 
			 Buckinghamshire 511 
			 Cambridgeshire 435 
			 Cheshire 192 
			 Cleveland 54 
			 Cornwall 522 
			 Cumbria 1,103 
			 Derbyshire 258 
			 Devon 1,139 
			 Dorset 349 
			 Durham 174 
			 East Sussex 319 
			 Essex 1,199 
			 Gloucestershire 753 
			 Greater London 81 
			 Greater Manchester 186 
			 Hampshire 831 
			 Hereford and Worcester 1,214 
			 Hertfordshire 834 
			 Humberside 89 
			 Isle of Wight 82 
			 Isles of Scilly 5 
			 Kent 898 
			 Lancashire 433 
			 Leicestershire 208 
			 Lincolnshire 211 
			 Merseyside 44 
			 Norfolk 644 
			 Northamptonshire 302 
			 Northumberland 176 
			 North Yorkshire 626 
			 Nottinghamshire 165 
			 Oxfordshire 743 
			 Shropshire 402 
			 Somerset 368 
			 South Yorkshire 232 
			 Staffordshire 195 
			 Suffolk 551 
			 Surrey 441 
			 Tyne and Wear 10 
			 Warwickshire 346 
			 West Midlands 76 
			 West Sussex 393 
			 West Yorkshire 1,039 
			 Wiltshire 494

Secondments

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Culture, Media and Sport which staff in her Department are  (a) seconded from organisations with charitable status and  (b) have (i) costs and (ii) salaries met (A) in part and (B) in whole from (1) public funds and (2) by the charity from which they are seconded.

David Lammy: In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) there are four staff seconded from organisations which have charitable status. All costs and salaries are met in full from public funds by DCMS.

Theatre Finance

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with Arts Council England on funding for local theatre in relation to the 2007 comprehensive spending review; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: No decisions have yet been takenon the Comprehensive Spending Review. Arts Council England has substantially increased funding for theatre in each year since 2001-02, when it was £58.6 million. In 2006-07, it will allocate an estimated £97.5 million to regularly funded theatre organisations.

TV Quiz Channels

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent consideration has been given to the further regulation of television quiz channels which offer cash prizes.

Shaun Woodward: Responsibility for the regulation of television quiz channels rests with the independent regulators, the Office of Communications (Ofcom)and the Independent Committee for the Supervisionof Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS).
	Ofcom and ICSTIS produced detailed new rulesand guidance in 2006, aimed at ensuring best practice in the industry and providing appropriate consumer protection. As a result there have been significant changes in the way Call TV quiz shows operatewith increased transparency for the viewer.
	On 10 October 2006 ICSTIS announced a further review of the Quiz TV sector, covering all services within the sector, as well as current safeguards.
	On 3 August the Gambling Commission consulted on the possible need for some Call TV Quiz Services to change how they are currently operated to ensure compliance with the new rules under the Gambling Act 2005 (which will come into force in September 2007). The consultation, which closed on 31 October, received a significant response. The Commission will be issuing its response in the new year.

TV Quiz Channels

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which digital television quiz channels are entitled to broadcast in the United Kingdom.

Shaun Woodward: All digital television channelswhich hold an Ofcom broadcasting licence or are appropriately authorised in an EU member state are entitled to broadcast in the UK whether or not they offer quiz shows. ITV Play, Quiz Call, iPlay and Big Game TV are dedicated quiz channels. A number of other channels offer substantial quiz TV programme breaks.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission 
	(1)  what the causes have been of the delay in finalising and publishing the National Audit Office report into the use by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of public funds in relation to the management of staff including the handling of grievance-type issues; when meetings were held between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the National Audit Office (NAO) to discuss the draft report; on what dates correspondence was exchanged between the FCO and the NAO on the contents of the draft report after the NAO submitted the draft to the FCO in August; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when the National Audit Office expects to publish its report into the use by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of public funds in relation to the management of staff including the handling of grievance-type issues.

Alan Williams: The National Audit Office received complaints from three employees of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the Department's handling of grievances. Following discussions with the Department the National Audit Office have reviewed the Department's procedures.The National Audit Office has provided the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with its provisionalaudit findings, setting out its recommendations to management for improvement. These are being discussed with the Department and are expected to be finalised in December, The review is not part of the programme of major studies on which the Comptroller and Auditor General reports to Parliament under the 1983 National Audit Act.

Avian Flu

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was  (a) planned for and  (b) spent on dealing with avian influenza in 2005-06; and what the figures are for 2006-07.

Ben Bradshaw: In 2005-06, approximately 9 million was spent on the prevention and control of avian influenza (AI).
	For 2006-07, DEFRA anticipates spending up to19 million on the prevention and control of AI. This includes preparedness measures and outbreak costs. However, this figure is subject to on-going review. To the end of October 2006 we had spent 9 million.

Bovine TB

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the evidential basis is for the view that human interference with badger setts is a causal factor in the transmission rates of bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: If by human interference the hon. Gentleman means culling, the evidence suggests that culling, as carried out in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, causes a decrease in TB incidence in the area culled and an increase around the site of a cull. The Independent Scientific Group suggests this is due to perturbation following culling.
	Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 it is illegal to interfere with badgers or their setts unless under licence.

British Waterways

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what Government funding has been provided to British Waterways in each of the last five years for which figures are available; what funding is planned for each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1607W; and 2 November 2006,  Official Report, column 572W.
	Following devolution, the Scottish Executivebecame responsible for British Waterways' activities in Scotland. The table shown in the answer given on23 October gives the grant paid from 2001-02 by DEFRA for waterways in England and Wales.

British Waterways

Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the likely impact on remainder waterways of the proposed reduction in the budget of the Environment Agency and British Waterways;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on maintenance obligations in relation to the remainder waterways.

Barry Gardiner: It is for British Waterways (BW) to prioritise its activities in the light of competing demands for available resources and its statutory obligations. The Environment Agency has no remainder waterways.
	Section 107 of the Transport Act 1968 places a duty on BW to maintain retained remainder waterways in the most economical manner possible consistent with the requirements of public health and the preservation of amenity and safety. This is qualified by section 22 of the British Waterways Act 1995 which requires BW to take into account the desirability of protecting remainder waterways for future use as cruising waterways, or as areas for other public recreational use, where they have suitable potential. In practice, BW maintains navigable remainder waterways to standards which reflect their use and prospects of use, using contributions from third parties to help fund this work.

Climate Change

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what response he has made to the proposals made on 15 November by the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan for an investment fund to combat climate change in Africa.

Ian Pearson: Driving the take-up of low carbon energy technology over the coming decades is vitalparticularly in developing countries. We havewelcomed United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's announcement about launching a Nairobi Framework to support developing countries, particularly in Africa, to participate in the Clean Development Mechanism. The UK will be playing its part by linking London-based carbon market experts with those developing projects in Africa.

Departmental Budget

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the shortfallin his Department's budget on  (a) the performanceof Natural England and  (b) his Department's biodiversity targets.

Barry Gardiner: We have been working with Natural England to avoid impacts on key priorities and outcomes, including DEFRA's biodiversity targets.
	Natural England's start-up costs were protected so there is no question of it being established as anything other than fit for purpose. The programmes which contribute to the Sites of Special Scientific Interest and farmland birds Public Service Agreement targets, and the England Biodiversity Strategy, will be delivered in full. Natural England is also giving priority to the delivery of agri-environment schemes.
	To enable the highest priority work areas to continue to be delivered, it has been necessary to delay or reduce the scale of some other programme work this year, for example, slowing down some research work.

Departmental Pay Rates

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department has spent on staff employed at his Department but remunerated through an employment agency in each year since 2001.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 22 November 2006
	From information held centrally, the core-Department's expenditure on personnel engaged through employment agencies since 2001 is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Value () 
			 2002-03 10,536,838 
			 2003-04 9,383,419 
			 2004-05 9,623,459 
			 2005-06 9,890,898 
			 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006 3,908,745 
		
	
	Information for the financial year 2001-02 is notheld centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay Rates

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many members of staff have received payments through an employment agency for work undertaken in his Department in each year since 2001.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 22 November 2006
	Information is not held centrally on the numbers of personnel who have received payments through an employment agency for work undertaken in the Department in each year since 2001. The information could b provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Statistics

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which statistics have been put forward by his Department for consideration to become new national statistics in each of the last five years; and how many statistics sets his Department has produced in total in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: The current list of National Statistics produced by DEFRA can be found on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ns_ons/nsproducts/default.asp
	A list of changes to the scope of National Statistics (additions and withdrawals) in each of the last five years can be found in the relevant National Statistics annual report available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1051
	In addition to National Statistics, DEFRA publishes a wide range of other numerical information in a variety of forms including other data producedfrom the management and administration of the Department and in research reports. There is no consistent definition of the term statistics sets and no centrally held information on the total published in each year on this basis.

Energy Conservation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what incentives are in place for those with responsibility for public buildings to install insulation as an energy saving measure.

Ian Pearson: Targets, including those now in place for central Government and the NHS estate, can encourage public sector organisations to reduce the use of energy and achieve lower emissions.
	To help these organisations to achieve their targets, the Carbon Trust's Carbon Management programme is encouraging public sector organisations to develop effective management procedures for the efficient use of energy. Specialist tailored programmes have been established for local authorities, the higher education sector and the NHS.
	Salix, which is a not-for-profit company set up by the Carbon Trust in 2004, uses Government funding of around 20 million to set up ring-fenced recycled loan funds in public sector organisations. Salix's funding is matched by the organisation and used to invest in cost-effective, long-term energy saving projects such as insulation, heating and lighting.

Energy Efficiency

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was allocated to householders under the Eaga Group Warm Front grant scheme in each local authority area in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ian Pearson: A table showing the spend by eachlocal authority on Warm Front during 1 June 2005 to 31 March 2006 has been placed in the Library ofthe House.

England Rural Development Programme

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on farmers' incomes of the delay in implementing the England Rural Development Programme 2007 to 2013;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the impact on the economy in rural areas of the delay in implementing the England Rural Development Programme 2007 to 2013 announced on 1 November.

Barry Gardiner: It is impossible to reach any definitive conclusions until we have a clearer idea of how long the delay will be, and that will depend upon events in the European Parliament and Council thereafter.
	Agreements signed under the current EnglandRural Development Programme (which runs until31 December 2006) will be honoured for the full term of the agreement and so will not be affected by the delay.
	We are working on the contingency arrangements for new rural development agreements, that will apply in the absence of EU approval, for the next programme and will publish full details as soon as possible. The delay to the programme will not affect the total amount of money available for rural development support available during 2007-13, but it may affect the timing of when new agreements can commence.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the auctioning of carbon emission permits under Phase 3 of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The European Commission published, on 13 November 2006, a communication setting out the agenda and process for its review of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. We welcome the Commission's statement, which appears to cover all the key issues, including those the Government set out in our Vision for Emissions Trading published on30 October.
	The Commission has stated that the review will explore the allowance allocation methodology for Phase III of the scheme, including the level and design of auctioning across the EU.
	The UK's aspiration is to move towards full auctioning in the future. This is the fairest method of allocation and ensures that the industry takes account of the full cost of carbon in its business decisions. We intend to learn from the experience of earlier phases and are actively working with other member states in the hope that we can harmonise the proportions of allowances to be auctioned as well as harmonising the rules governing auctioning. We are also keen that auctions are open to participants from all member states.

Farm Emissions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with the bodies of the farming industry on including farming within the carbon dioxide emissions targets.

Ian Pearson: Direct emissions of carbon dioxide are not the key issue for farming in tackling climate change. Agriculture contributes 7 per cent. of UK greenhouse gas emissions but less than 1 per cent. of UK carbon dioxide emissions.
	The bigger challenge is on two other gases, methane and nitrous oxide, of which some 36 per cent. and67 per cent. respectively of UK emissions comes from agriculture, from livestock, manures, and artificial fertiliser.
	There are no specific emissions reduction targets for agriculture at the moment. Nevertheless we are working closely with the National Farmers' Union and the Country Land and Business Association, for example through the Rural Climate Change Forum, on policies and measures to ensure that farmers can play a full part in reducing UK emissions and help move us to a low carbon economy.

Fly-tipping

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of waste he estimates was illegally fly-tipped in each year since March 2005, broken down by the nature of the waste.

Ben Bradshaw: Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database, records summary data on incidents of fly-tipping broken down by waste type, land type and size of fly-tip.
	Flycapture data for April 2005 to March 2006 were released on 31 July 2006 and are reproduced below:
	
		
			  Number of incidents of fly-tipping by waste type reported to Flycapture by local authorities in England between April 2005 and March 2006 
			  Waste type  Number of incidents 
			 Animal carcass 9,307 
			 Green 46,833 
			 Vehicle parts 18,449 
			 White goods 64,878 
			 Other electrical 24,049 
			 Tyres 25,379 
			 Asbestos 3,051 
			 Clinical 2,786 
			 Construction/demolition/excavation 53,329 
			 Black bags commercial 51,837 
			 Black bags household 194,111 
			 Chemical drums, oil or fuel 4,329 
			 Other household waste 327,539 
			 Other commercial waste 38,257 
			 Other (unidentified):sid1621 8230 152,458 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of incidents of fly-tipping by size reported to Flycapture by local authorities in England between April 2005 and March 2006 
			  Size of fly-tip  Number of incidents 
			 Single item 285,942 
			 Car boot or less 307,474 
			 Small van load 236,510 
			 Transit van load 124,715 
			 Tipper lorry load 24,245 
			 Significant multi loads 6,676 
		
	
	Further information can be found on the DEFRA website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/flytipping/flycapture.htm

Foot and Mouth Disease

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which countries he has been informed have had an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the last 12 months.

Ben Bradshaw: Outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) have been reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) by the following countries over the last 12 months, up to 22 November 2006:
	Argentina
	Botswana
	Brazil
	China
	Democratic Republic of Congo
	Ecuador
	Egypt
	Israel
	Palestinian Autonomous Territories
	Russia
	South Africa
	Turkey
	Vietnam.
	Some of these outbreaks occurred in FMD control zones and did not affect the export status of the country concerned. FMD is endemic in a number of other countries in Africa, Asia and South America. In this case, individual outbreaks are not reported tothe OIE.

Hunting

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which hunts the Forestry Commission has assessed as having successfully transferred to chemical-only based scents when drag hunting.

Barry Gardiner: The Forestry Commission is not aware of any hunt, whether a member of the Masters of Bloodhounds and Draghounds Association or the Masters of Foxhounds Association, which has successfully transferred to chemical only based scents.

Inland Waterways

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effect on inland waterways of the recent reduction in funding.

Barry Gardiner: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 23 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1607; and 7 November 2006,  Official Report columns 1067-68.

Land-based Economy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to improve skill levels among sectors for which his Department is responsible in relation to the land-based economy.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA has an ongoing commitment to promoting the recognition of skills and the business benefits of training in the environmental and land-based sectors. To help further these aims, we have commissioned a business competence framework.
	The competence framework will provide a clear understanding of what skills an individual will require to work in particular industries and in specific jobs within those industries. It will also map out career progression more clearly, support continuous professional development and provide links to training opportunities. Data gathered from the competence framework will assist training providers in targeting their provision in line with emerging needs and geographical location.
	The development of the competence framework is being undertaken by Lantra (The Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sectors) andis wholly funded by DEFRA. However, it will be self-financing, on a fees basis, by 2009. Lantra are working to promote the business benefits of training through advocacy networks, in order to help overcome the cultural barriers to training uptake commonly found in their respective sectors.
	The competence framework will contain competences relevant across the environmental and land-based sectors, organised into job profiles. Competences will be divided into different levels to reflect grade or seniority. Use of the competence framework will be voluntary and participation will be open to all sizes of business. Competences will be mapped against national occupational standards and linked to existing and new qualifications. Users will have a 'skills passport' allowing them to demonstrate their competence to industry accepted standards.
	Lantra continues to engage closely with industry to ensure that the competence framework accurately reflects their needs.

Meat Hygiene Service

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what responsibility his Department has for the Meat Hygiene Service.

Barry Gardiner: None. The Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) is an executive agency of the Food Standards Agency, a non-ministerial Government Department.
	A service level agreement covers work carried outby the MHS on behalf of DEFRA. This includes animal identification, disease surveillance (including transmissible spongiform encephalopathy controls), animal welfare and sample taking.

Milk Quotas

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects milk quotas to be abolished.

Barry Gardiner: The Government would like to see the abolition of the milk quota system as soon as is practicable because it is bureaucratic, constrains production by efficient farmers and imposes additional costs on the United Kingdom dairy industry.
	The current European Union (EU) regulations provide for milk quotas to continue until 2015. The EU Commission is due to carry out a health checkon the common agricultural policy (CAP) by 2008 and the Agriculture Commissioner has indicated her willingness to consider phasing out milk quotas. We shall be negotiating for an end to milk quotas as part of a structured reform of the CAP.

National Air Quality Strategy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the review of the National Air Quality Strategy to be completed.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1873W.

Pollution Prevention and Control Charges

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what consideration has been given to waiving integrated pollution prevention and control charges for any period of time; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what conditions must be met before an integrated pollution prevention and control permit will be granted; what estimate his Department has made of the costs incurred by farmers to achieve the required standard; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the cost of  (a) permits and  (b) annual fees (i) will be to the integrated pollution prevention and control regime and (ii) was for the integrated pollution control regime under Part I of the 1990 Environment Protection Act; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The integrated pollution prevention control (IPPC) directive applies an integrated environmental approach to the regulation of industrial activities. This means that emissions to air, water (including discharges to sewer) and land, plus a range of other environmental effects, including noise and vibration, must be considered together before a permit is granted. IPPC aims to prevent emissions and waste production and where that is not practicable, reduce them to acceptable levels.
	The regulator must set permit conditions so as to achieve a high level of protection for the environment and human health as a whole. These conditions are based on the use of the Best Available Techniques , which balances the costs to the operator against the benefits to the environment and human health.
	Regulatory costs have to be met by those whose activities cause the need for them and so cannot be waived. Intensive livestock installations will be charged 3,331 for a permit application and then annual charges of 2,229 for a small installation and 2,794 for a large one. The IPPC directive applies only to poultry installations with places for more than 40,000 birds and to installations with places for more than 2,000 production pigs or 750 sows. Large units are those greater than 10 times the lower threshold, that is those greater than 400,000 birds, 20,000 production pigs or 7,500 sows.
	On 19 May, the industry accepted an offerfrom the Environment Agency whereby, provided permit applications are received evenly through the1 November 2006 to 31 January 2007 application period, a subsistence charge of 1,471 for an existing small installation and 1,844 for an existing large one will be charged to industry from August 2007 until March 2008. This represents a substantial saving to industry.
	Intensive livestock installations are not, and have never been, subject to the integrated pollution control regime under Part I of the 1990 Environment Protection Act. The total capital costs of meeting, in England, the requirements of the IPPC directiveincluding permitting and improvements likely to be necessary over the next few yearswere estimated by the Rural Development Service in February 2006 to be 64.6 million with annual costs of 20.2 million, although there are significant uncertainties about these estimates.

Poultry Industry

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking in conjunction with the poultry industry to ensure that the 2012 ban on battery cagesis met.

Ben Bradshaw: The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 bans the conventional cage from 2012. Laying hens may only be kept in enriched cages or non-cage systems after this date. Any further changes to systems of production must be made at European Union level.
	All poultry keepers must be acquainted with DEFRA's Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Laying Hens. The code makes it clear that, under regulation 10 of the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2000, hens may not be kept in conventional cages from 1 January 2012. The code is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/lavers/index.htm.
	DEFRA has also been looking in more detail at the welfare aspects of enriched cages through its research programme. Projects have involved collaboration with the poultry industry.

Poultry Industry

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that annual inspection charges do not undermine the competitiveness of the UK poultry industry.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) on 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1585W.

Recycling

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department has on specific problems related to recycling of waste by the school and college sector.

Ben Bradshaw: Under section 45 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 local authorities have a duty to collect waste from education establishments, if requested to do so, free of disposal charges. Those that use local authority waste collection services can ask to be included in the recycling service provided by the local authority. However, schools and colleges are free to make whatever arrangements they see fit for waste management. There are a number of mechanisms they can use to include recycling even where they have existing long term waste contracts that must be honoured. These include engaging community groups or even setting up their own in-house schemes. Due to the quantities of waste involved this often means they have less problems than others. The primary factor determining whether or not a school or college recycles is the will to do it.
	Our new Waste Strategy, to be published in the new year, will emphasise the importance of recycling non-municipal as well as household waste, and set out how schools and businesses can do more.
	In addition, the Waste and Resources Action Programme is currently redeveloping an existing schools programme, previously run by Waste Watch. The campaign has been revamped to link more closely with the messages of the Recycle Now campaign and increase its effectiveness.

Rural Payments Agency

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of total rural payments are outstanding; what the average delay in such cases has been; how many cases are delayed; and what compensation is being offered.

Barry Gardiner: Latest Single Payment Scheme figures show 98.81 per cent. of the estimated1.528 billion fund has now been paid out, leaving1.19 per cent. to pay.
	As the regulatory payment window closed on30 June, all remaining payments are nearly five months late.
	Those still awaiting a payment now number 1,773, of which 40 are priority one claimants owed over 1,000 these include 30 probate cases and 10 difficult to resolve with issues such as business partnership disputes, liquidation and divorce.
	Compensation is being paid to customers as interest, under conditions announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment on 22 June. The interest payments are at the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)+1 per cent., calculated from 1 July, subject to a minimum interest payment level of 50, to customers who have received SPS 2005 moneys after the 30 June regulatory payment window.

Rural Payments Agency

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will visit the new livestock market in Shrewsbury to discuss problems with single farm payment provisions with local farmers.

Barry Gardiner: The Secretary of State has no plans to visit the livestock market in Shrewsbury, however, my right hon. Friend, Lord Rooker, will be visiting the hon. Member's constituency on 1 February to discuss agriculture issues, including the Single Payment Scheme.

Rural Payments Agency

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that the Rural Payments Agency will make a substantial part payment of the 2006 payments due before the end of 2006 under the single payment scheme.

Barry Gardiner: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 7 November 2006,  Official Report,column 715.

School Recycling Projects

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding has been allocated for school recycling projects in England; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 July 2006,  Official Report,column 726W.

Sewage in Rivers

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions untreated sewage was discharged into the  (a) Hampshire Avon,  (b) River Nadder,  (c) River Ebble,  (d) River Wylye and  (e) River Bourne in Wiltshire in (i) 2005 and (ii) 2006.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency's National Incident Recording System (NIRS) show that there were 33 sewage related discharges into the Hampshire Avon and its tributaries in 2005 and 21 such discharges so far in 2006. The following table summarises these incidents by category and river catchment.
	
		
			  River  Category  2005  2006( 1) 
			 Hampshire Avon(2) Category 1 0 0 
			  Category 2 2 1 
			  Category 3 or 4 13 9 
			 
			 River Nadder Category 1 0 0 
			  Category 2 0 0 
			  Category 3 or 4 4 2 
			 
			 River Ebble Category 1 0 0 
			  Category 2 0 0 
			  Category 3 or 4 1 0 
			 
			 River Wylye Category 1 0 0 
			  Category 2 0 1 
			  Category 3 or 4 12 3 
			 
			 River Bourne Category 1 0 0 
			  Category 2 0 0 
			  Category 3 or 4 1 5 
			 
			 Total Category 1 0 0 
			  Category 2 2 2 
			  Category 3 or 4 31 19 
			 (1 )To 22 November 2006. (2) Source to Christchurch. 
		
	
	Each incident was investigated to establish the cause and to quantify the impact. For Category 1 and 2 incidents (those with the greatest impact) the Environment Agency also gather evidence which may be used to support subsequent enforcement action. In addition, the Environment Agency would ensure that visible evidence of sewage pollution is removed from the river and that the polluter takes action to prevent a reoccurrence of the incident.

State Veterinary Service

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the budgets for  (a) the State Veterinary Service and  (b) the Veterinary Laboratories Agency have been reduced for (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08.

Barry Gardiner: I refer my hon. Friend to my written answer of 24 October 2006,  Official Report, columns 1723-24W, in which I stated that the resource budget for the State Veterinary Service for the current fiscal year had been reduced by 3.0 million and the resource budget for the Veterinary Laboratories Agency Service for the current fiscal year had been reduced by2.4 million.
	However, our noble Friend Lord Rooker's statement to the other House explained, there was an increase of 3.0 million in the capital budget of the State Veterinary Service so there was no net reduction in their budget.
	Planned budgets for 2007-08 are still being discussed with the relevant bodies.

Thames Estuary

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the Thames Estuary 2100 project; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency's Thames Estuary 2100 project is developing a tidal flood risk management plan for London and the Thames Estuary for the next 100 years, to include consideration of the likely impact of climate change, sea level rise and increased sea surge.
	The project is investigating a balance of measures such as the timing and design of future flood defences, resilience of new and existing development and flood warning systems and emergency response. The Agency has completed the first phase of studies to inform further refinement and costing of options and is expecting to go to public consultation on these options in late spring 2007. A draft final plan is expected in 2008 which will then undergo further consultation before final submission to DEFRA.

Vehicles (End of Life)

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what obligation an owner of an unviable motor vehicle, who wants to dispose of it, is under to take it to an authorised disposal facility.

Ben Bradshaw: An owner of an unviable motor vehicle, wishing to discard it, is required by the End of Life Vehicles Regulations 2003 to take it to an authorised treatment facility, or to an agent who will do this on their behalf.
	The End of Life Vehicle Regulations 2003 transpose part of the End of Life Vehicles Directive and require sites that keep or treat end-of-life vehicles to meet minimum standards to avoid pollution to the environment or harm to human health. Such authorised treatment facilities must be in possession of a waste management licence and are regulated in England and Wales by the Environment Agency.

Waste Management

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what definition he uses of waste authorities  (a) having regard to and  (b) being in general conformity with the Mayor's Municipal Waste Strategy when delivering their functions under part II of the Environment Protection Act 1990 in the context of 'The Greater London Authority: The Government's Final Proposals for Additional Powers and Responsibilities for the Mayor and Assembly'; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: On 13 July this year, the Government announced the outcome of its review of the powers and responsibilities of the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority. As part of this, the Government announced a change in the requirement for waste authorities to have regard to the Mayor's Municipal Waste Management Strategy in delivering their waste service to acting in general conformity with the Mayor's strategy. This will be defined further in guidance, which will follow in due course.

Waste Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the household waste recycling rates were in of each English region in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the rates were in each year since 1996-97.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 21 November 2006
	The information requested is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Household recycling rates in 1996-97 to 2000-01 
			  Percentage 
			  Region  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01 
			 North East 3.8 4.4 3.7 3.6 4.1 
			 North West 4.9 5.4 6.0 6.9 7.5 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 3.7 5.1 6.0 6.8 7.3 
			 East Midlands 6.5 7.2 8.6 10.5 13.1 
			 West Midlands 5.4 6.3 6.9 8.8 9.1 
			 East 9.3 10.5 11.9 14.1 15.2 
			 London 6.0 7.0 7.6 9.0 9.0 
			 South East 12.0 12.2 13.3 14.9 16.4 
			 South West 12.4 12.3 13.6 13.7 14.9 
		
	
	
		
			  Household recycling rates in 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			  Percentage 
			  Region  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 ( 1) 2005-06 
			 North East 5.2 6.6 12.2 15.4 21.1 
			 North West 9.2 11.3 14.2 19.2 23.8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8.9 11.2 14.5 18.6 21.8 
			 East Midlands 13.7 15.1 19.3 26.3 31.8 
			 West Midlands 10.2 13.0 15.7 19.9 25.1 
			 East 17.4 19.4 23.4 29.8 34.1 
			 London 9.3 10.9 13.3 17.6 20.7 
			 South East 17.7 19.6 22.8 26.1 29.2 
			 South West 16.6 18.6 21.4 26.6 31.4 
			 (1) Figures for 2005-06 are estimates and subject to change. 
		
	
	Further information is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wastats/bulletin.htm.

Waste Recycling

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on waste managementof Manchester's joint private finance initiative procurement; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 21 November 2006
	The Greater Manchester waste private finance initiative (PFI) project is strategically important to the UK in terms of the sheer volume of municipal solid waste that will be managed, and the significant contribution it is projected to make in helping the UK meet EU landfill directive targets for the diversion of biodegradable municipal waste away from landfill. The project will commence in late 2007.
	It is anticipated that the project will divert 8 per cent. of the total required tonnage in the target year 2020, based on the 2001-02 starting position. In recognition of the large proportion of biodegradable municipal waste the project is projected to divert, it hasbeen allocated a comparatively large amount ofPFI credits100 millionwhich is equivalent to6.66 million per 100,000 tonnes of waste.

Waste Strategy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what distinctions are made between mass-burn incineration and anaerobic digestion in his Department's policy on energy from waste.

Ben Bradshaw: There are several technologies available to derive energy from waste (EfW). The Government do not favour mass burn incineration over other technologies such as refuse derived fuel, gasification and pyrolysis.
	The Department's policy is to classify anaerobic digestion of waste as a form of recycling, rather than EfW. As such, it benefits from inclusion in the recycling Best Value Performance Indicators. Electricity produced in anaerobic digestion plants also receives Renewable Obligation Certificates, which are not routinely available to EfW plants.

Water Industry

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress he has made in implementing the conclusions of the Government's Water Affordability Report of December 2004 in respect of low income families.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Torbay (Mr. Sanders) on 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1076W.

Water Use

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what total water use was in England and Wales in each year since 1997, broken down by water company area.

Ian Pearson: Total water use, by the household and non-household sectors, for each water company since 1997-98 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Water use 1997-98 to 2005-06 (M/d) 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Anglian 932 911 920 903 896 923 925 912 914 
			 Dwr Cymru 644 628 624 622 633 632 629 628 626 
			 Northumbrian 595 594 590 576 573 554 552 544 541 
			 United Utilities 1,477 1,440 1,434 1,443 1,447 1,443 1,457 1,402 1,421 
			 Severn Trent 1,503 1,504 1,508 1,498 1,500 1,383 1,422 1,390 1,372 
			 South West 339 337 337 333 341 343 355 353 344 
			 Southern 495 485 483 478 499 492 496 483 479 
			 Thames 1,732 1,682 1,853 1,853 1,845 1,849 1,876 1,842 1,887 
			 Wessex 230 275 276 277 282 281 293 288 283 
			 Yorkshire 925 904 926 928 969 955 953 953 944 
			 Bournemouth and W. Hants 131 126 133 130 130 134 141 140 135 
			 Bristol 243 239 235 232 239 233 237 230 232 
			 Cambridge 58 57 57 57 53 59 61 61 61 
			 Dee Valley 58 59 58 58 53 53 59 57 58 
			 Essex and Suffolk 405 399 393 383 396 391 403 389 393 
			 Folkestone 40 40 40 40 42 41 42 38 37 
			 Md Kent 127 127 130 126 128 128 135 132 131 
			 Portsmouth 145 143 150 145 149 145 155 148 146 
			 South East 283 282 287 289 297 299 320 316 311 
			 South Staffs 256 249 249 252 257 254 261 252 251 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 130 126 129 128 134 135 143 136 134 
			 Tendring Hundred 26 24 24 24 25 25 26 25 25 
			 Three Valleys 653 646 665 681 703 697 733 714 715 
			 Industry 11,477 11,274 11,495 11,455 11,605 11,468 11,680 11,432 11,443

Water/Sewerage Services

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monthly cost to consumers was of  (a) water services and  (b) sewerage services to (i) metered and (ii) unmetered customers in each water supply area in 2006-07.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat is the economic regulator for the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. In December 2004 it set price limits for the period 2005-10.
	The following table sets out the forecast average monthly cost of water and sewerage services in 2006-07, for metered and unmetered customers. Each figure is based on the forecast annual average bill for the particular service. Individual bills can be more or less than the average. More information can be found in Ofwat's 'Water and sewerage charges 2006-07' report.
	
		
			   
			   Unmetered water  Metered water  Unmetered sewerage  Metered sewerage 
			  Water and sewerage companies 
			 Anglian 14 10 17 13 
			 Dwr Cymru 13 9 18 11 
			 Northumbrian 11 10 13 11 
			 Northumbrian 10 9 13 11 
			 Essex and Suffolk 14 11   
			 Severn Trent 12 10 11 11 
			 South West 17 12 30 18 
			 Southern 10 9 18 14 
			 Thames 14 12 9 8 
			 United Utilities 12 11 14 13 
			 Wessex 15 11 16 12 
			 Yorkshire 12 10 13 11 
			  
			  Water only companies 
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire 12 10   
			 Bristol 12 10   
			 Cambridge 10 8   
			 Cholderton 15 12   
			 Dee Valley 11 8   
			 Folkestone and Dover 15 13   
			 Mid Kent 14 11   
			 Portsmouth 7 7   
			 South East 14 12   
			 South Staffordshire 9 9   
			 Sutton and East Surrey 13 10   
			 Tendring Hundred 17 12   
			 Three Valleys 13 11   
			  Average monthly cost 2006-07

Planning Service

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many new planning officers  (a) were recruited by and  (b) left the Planning Service in each of the municipal areas in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Cairns: The information requested is not available by municipal area but can be provided on the basis of the Planning Service's various offices, which are spread throughout Northern Ireland.
	
		
			  Recruitment of planning officers 
			   Year of recruitment 
			  Allocated to:  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006( 1)  Total 
			 Ballymena 8 9 10 12  39 
			 Belfast 10 8 4 6  28 
			 Coleraine 6 5 7 2  20 
			 Craigavon 16 12 17 13  58 
			 Downpatrick 11 7 9 8  35 
			 HQ 15 13 11 5  44 
			 Enniskillen 2 1 0 1  4 
			 Omagh 10 4 7 12  33 
			 Derry 3 3 4 1  11 
			 (1) To date.  Note: This does not include staff already in post who were successful on external competitions. 
		
	
	
		
			  Planning officers who left the planning service (resignations and retirements) 
			  Division  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006( 1)  Total 
			 Ballymena 3  1 4 6 14 
			 Belfast 2 2 1 2 5 12 
			 Coleraine   1  2 3 
			 Craigavon  2 2 3 6 13 
			 Downpatrick 1 2 4 3 7 17 
			 HQ 4 3 2 6 6 21 
			 Enniskillen2 1 3 
			 Omagh 1 2 1 3 2 9 
			 Derry 2  2 1  5 
			 (1) To date.

Planning Service

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long the Planning Service took to process planning applications made by  (a) private individuals and  (b) businesses for wind farms in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Cairns: The average processing times for those wind farm applications determined in each year since 2002 are set out as follows. None of the applications determined during this period have been from private individuals, all have been from businesses. In all of these applications there has been a requirement for the applicant to submit further environmental information.
	
		
			   Number of applications  Average processing time (months) 
			 2002 0 n/a 
			 2003 4 27 
			 2004 1 18 
			 2005 3 14 
			 2006(1) 3 21 
			 (1) To date.  Note: It is important to note that due to the small number of wind farm applications an average processing time scale can be misleading. Each site differs in terms of the size, scale and location of the proposal and the quality of the environmental information submitted with the application will greatly influence the processing time.

Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the current  (a) male and  (b) female prison population in Northern Ireland is; and how many (i) male and (ii) female prison vacancies there are in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: At 17 November 2006, there were 1,432 male and 38 female prisoners in Northern Ireland. Some 30 per cent. of male prisoners currently share a cell, (one house for young offenders at Hydebank Wood is closed for cell refurbishment). There are currently 24 vacant female cells, and89 vacant male cells. However the latter figure includes 28 in separated conditions at Maghaberry, 18 in the Foyleview Resettlement Unit at Magilligan (which can only be used for lower risk prisoners) and 19 at one House in The Young Offenders Centre which is specifically allocated for under 18s. Work is ongoing to build two ready to use units, with a total of 180 cells, at Maghaberry and Magilligan Prisons.

Gender Equality

John Bercow: To ask the Leader of the House
	(1)  when he expects to publish the Privy Council Office's gender equality scheme;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that private organisations contracted to work in the Privy Council's Office are aware of their duties under gender equality legislation when they are exercising public functions on behalf of public bodies;
	(3)  what plans he has to carry out gender impact assessments of his major policy developments and new legislation;
	(4)  what steps he is taking to ensure that the Privy Council's Office is taking steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies  (a) to end unlawful discrimination and harassment and  (b) to promote equality between women and men.

Jack Straw: In line with the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930), laid on 10 November 2006, the Privy Council Office (PCO) expects to publish its Gender Equality Scheme by 30 April 2007. This scheme will complement existing policies on equality withinthe PCO.
	Any private sector organisations carrying out functions of a public nature on behalf of the PCO will be required to comply with the general gender equality duty. To assist the PCO in ensuring that private sector contractors providing goods, works or services on our behalf, are aware of their obligations under the general gender equality duty we will refer to the Equal Opportunities Commission's (EOC) Code of Practice of the Gender Equality Duty and any further EOC guidance when available.
	This Department has no lead responsibility for major policy developments and new legislation at present. Should this position change, however, the PCO will carry out gender impact assessments in linewith the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities)(Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930). We shall also refer to EOC Code of Practice on the Gender Equality Duty and any specific guidance when available.

Freedom of Information

Oliver Heald: To ask the Prime Minister how many Freedom of Information Act requests his Office has received since May 2006; and how many  (a) are in train,  (b) are concluded and  (c) were answered within 20 working days.

Tony Blair: For these purposes my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 12 September 2005,  Official Report, column 2248W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Ms Harman).

Intercept Communications

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister whether it his policy that no authorisation will be given for the interception of communications in respect of  (a) hon. Members and  (b) Members of the House of Lords; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I have nothing further toadd to the written ministerial statement I made on30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 95-96WS and to the written statement given by my noble Friend the Leader of the House of Lords (Baroness Amos) on30 March 2006,  Official Report, column WS116.

Departmental Staff

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish the proposed staff structure of her Department; and when it will be fully implemented.

Angela Smith: The departmental organisational structure as at 13 November 2006 is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/449/CommunitiesandLocalGQvernmentorganisationchart_idl504449.pdf
	The website also details the rationale for the structures put in place following the restructuring exercise carried out during the summer.

Devon County Council

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the long-term debt of Devon county council was at the end of each financial year from 2001-02 to 2005-06.

Phil Woolas: The level of long-term debt of Devon county council at 31 March for each year from 2002 to 2006 is tabled as follows.
	
		
			   Long-term debt ( million) 
			 2002 338.6 
			 2003 365.3 
			 2004 409.6 
			 2005 449.6 
			 2006 539.6 
			  Note: Long-term is defined as a loan having an original maturity of 365 days or more.  Source: Monthly Borrowing and Lending Inquiry and Public Works Loan Board.

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) wholetime firefighters and  (b) retained firefighters were employed on 11 September (i) 2001 and (ii) in each subsequent year, broken down by fire authority area.

Angela Smith: The following information covers the number of whole-time and retained duty system firefighters employed by the Fire and Rescue Services in England over the period 2001-02 to 2004-05(at 31 March in each year).
	
		
			  Number of fire and rescue service staff in postwhole-time and retained duty system 2001-02 to 2004-05 (at 31 March) 
			   Whole-time  Retained duty system 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Avon 651 639 678 669 218 215 213 220 
			 Bedfordshire and Luton 334 319 330 323 151 139 106 150 
			 Buckinghamshire 304 330 352 349 190 200 195 184 
			 Cambridgeshire 274 273 285 273 344 327 350 369 
			 Cheshire 626 623 616 602 190 199 199 198 
			 Cleveland 610 586 570 563 85 89 87 90 
			 Cornwall 183 192 205 201 425 431 413 418 
			 County Durham and Darlington 412 407 402 385 161 160 158 154 
			 Cumbria 274 274 271 274 439 461 458 467 
			 Derbyshire 482 467 479 475 364 341 353 354 
			 Devon 538 565 575 562 727 728 771 825 
			 Dorset 298 304 309 302 331 332 343 357 
			 East Sussex 423 423 453 434 240 291 224 241 
			 Essex 948 937 920 936 477 472 475 488 
			 Gloucestershire 226 233 238 239 289 298 285 296 
			 Greater Manchester 2,148 2,139 2,100 2,028 38 20 35 38 
			 Hampshire 770 799 808 790 688 673 704 707 
			 Hereford and Worcester 352 351 347 319 355 355 344 340 
			 Hertfordshire 570 564 574 564 261 208 268 257 
			 Humberside 720 721 728 710 327 335 344 351 
			 Isle of Wight 59 61 58 63 153 163 163 148 
			 Isles of Scilly 10 10 11 11 34 34 40 39 
			 Kent 951 938 942 892 736 719 739 111 
			 Lancashire 1,002 1,008 990 957 357 369 384 402 
			 Leicestershire 476 478 476 477 225 218 218 262 
			 Lincolnshire 187 192 187 195 495 498 529 506 
			 London 5,758 5,758 5,990 5,815 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 1,317 1,342 1,319 1,276 0 0 0 21 
			 Norfolk 308 288 295 281 405 426 435 501 
			 North Yorkshire 364 351 363 358 366 392 324 381 
			 Northamptonshire 292 307 311 302 242 228 220 237 
			 Northumberland 208 209 198 193 187 177 187 189 
			 Nottinghamshire 576 589 587 549 354 356 349 339 
			 Oxfordshire 231 233 245 237 319 320 293 301 
			 Royal Berkshire 397 436 430 422 155 168 154 137 
			 Shropshire 206 216 216 208 299 289 294 294 
			 Somerset 181 181 179 184 372 364 373 377 
			 South Yorkshire 923 914 918 878 58 63 59 54 
			 Staffordshire 471 471 470 447 398 420 397 424 
			 Suffolk 253 250 244 257 401 415 399 425 
			 Surrey 686 693 669 673 129 130 134 133 
			 Tyne and Wear 1,009 999 970 945 23 23 23 23 
			 Warwickshire 282 279 284 276 178 189 191 179 
			 West Midlands 2,028 1,971 1,968 1,944 9 11 11 11 
			 West Sussex 393 395 409 394 311 323 295 353 
			 West Yorkshire 1,660 1,678 1,658 1,602 163 159 165 187 
			 Wiltshire 221 221 229 219 344 316 314 339 
			 England 31,592 31,614 31,856 31,053 13,013 13,044 13,015 13,543 
			  Source: Fire and Rescue Service returns to Department for Communities and Local Government

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many persons were rescued alive from fires in dwellings by the fire service in each year since 1994. [R]

Angela Smith: The available information is set out as follows:
	
		
			  Number of persons rescued alive from fires in dwellings: England 
			   Rescues 
			 1994 2,716 
			 1995 2,952 
			 1996 3,002 
			 1997 3,048 
			 1998 3,111 
			 1999 3,295 
			 2000 4,268 
			 2001 3,588 
			 2002(1) 4,169 
			 2003(1) 3,868 
			 2004 3,316 
			 2005(2) 3,246 
			 (1) Figures include estimates for incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action (2 )Provisional data  Source: FDR1 returns from fire and rescue services to the Department for Communities and Local Government

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) aircraft accidents were attended by the fire service and  (b) people were rescued alive from aircraft accidents by the fire service in each year since 1994.

Angela Smith: The available information covers the number of aircraft accidents attended by fire and rescue services, details of any associated rescues are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Number of aircraft accidents attended by fire and rescue services in England 
			   Number 
			 1994-95 259 
			 1995-96 309 
			 1996-97 317 
			 1997-98 299 
			 1998-99 378 
			 1999-2000 231 
			 2000-01 194 
			 2001-02 259 
			 2002-03 178 
			 2003-04 211 
			 2004-05 238 
			  Source:  Fire and rescue service returns to the Department for Communities and Local Government

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) railway accidents were attended by the fire service and  (b) people were rescued alive from railway accidents by the fire service in each year since 1994. [R]

Angela Smith: The available information covers the number of railway accidents (above and below ground) attended by fire and rescue services, details of any associated rescues are not held centrally.
	
		
			  Number of railway incidents attended by fire and rescue services in England 
			   Number 
			 1994-95 96 
			 1995-96 93 
			 1996-97 75 
			 1997-98 131 
			 1998-99 92 
			 1999-2000 67 
			 2000-01 108 
			 2001-02 92 
			 2002-03 97 
			 2003-04 69 
			 2004-05 75 
			  Source: Fire and rescue service returns to the Department for Communities and Local Government

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many lift rescues were carried out by the fire service in each year since 1994.

Angela Smith: The number of lift release incidents attended by fire and rescue services in England is set out as follows:
	
		
			   Number of incidents 
			 1994-95 23,005 
			 1995-96 24,446 
			 1996-97 23,070 
			 1997-98 24,013 
			 1998-99 23,689 
			 1999-2000 24,124 
			 2000-02 24,477 
			 2001-02 25,709 
			 2002-03 25,326 
			 2003-04 26,001 
			 2004-05 24,105 
			  Source: Fire and rescue service returns to Department for Communities and Local Government

Government Offices

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost of running the Government Office of the South West was in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what work it has  (a) undertaken and  (b) completed in the Bournemouth area.

Angela Smith: For 2005-06 the GovernmentOffice for the South West (GOSW) running cost was 14.823 million. For 2006-07, it is forecast to be 14.717 million. GOSW's work is set out in its annual forward lookWhat's GOSW Doing? 2006-07 and in its annual review for 2005-06, available on the website www.gosw.gov.uk
	In Bournemouth the key priority this year is the development of a local area agreement, which should be finalised by March 2007. GOSW has workedwith local partners on applying lessons from the Neighbourhood Management pathfinder in Boscombe and Springbourne to tackle deprivation across the borough; worked in partnership with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to invest (534,274 in 2005-06, 436,541 for 2006-07) in measures to reduce crime, reassure the public and reduce the harm caused by illegal drugs. GOSW assessed the joint Local Transport Plan 2006 to 2011 and (2000 to 2005) delivery report which will inform transport funding decisions later this year. GOSW has also worked with the borough on delivery of the decent homes target, developing a housing market assessment and has shared good practice on homelessness.

Rate Relief

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in what circumstances rural public houses may apply for rate relief; what the current level of take-up is of  (a) mandatory relief and  (b) discretionary relief is; and what proportion of eligible public houses this represents in each case.

Phil Woolas: The rural rate relief scheme provides for mandatory rate relief of 50 per cent. of the rates bill to sole public houses with rateable values of no more than 9,000 provided they are located in rural settlements designated by the Secretary of State as a rural area by reference to maps or appear in local authorities' rural settlement lists. Local authorities also have a discretionary power to top-up the relief to 100 per cent. rate relief if they feel it is in the interests of the local community to do so.
	Information on the take-up of the rural rate relief for public houses and the number of eligible public houses is not available centrally. On the basis of returns completed by local authorities before the start of the current financial year, an estimated 5,905,947 is expected to be paid out in mandatory rate relief for village shops (including public houses) and 2,029,737 is expected to be paid out in discretionary relief to village shops.

Retirement Age

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities have mandatory retirement ages.

Phil Woolas: Local authorities are responsible for their own employment practices. Since 1 October 2006 all local authorities have been required to comply with age discrimination legislation, under which an employer may set a retirement age normally no earlier than age 65.
	The Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales has a normal retirement age, againstwhich pensions are calculated and become payable, of 65 years. Where a member remains employed by his authority beyond age 65, payment of pension will be delayed and accrued pension rights can be actuarially enhanced. A member who chooses to cease employment earlier than age 65 can elect to draw his pension at any time after reaching age 60, or after reaching age 50 if his employer consents. The pension would normally be subject to actuarial reduction in these circumstances. There are also flexible retirement arrangements which allow employees, after reaching age 50, to draw pension subject to the consent of their employer, where they have agreed a change to their contractual conditions which results in a reduction of pay. Local authorities are required to have a policy dealing with the circumstances in which they may allow early release of pension.

Small Business Friendly Concordat

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether the Small Business Friendly Concordat is planned to be made a compulsory agreement; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what percentage of authorities has signed up to the Small Business Friendly Concordat voluntarily; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  when her Department plans to hold the first evaluation of local authority procurement under the Small Business Friendly Concordat; and if she will make a statement;
	(4)  what assessment she has made of the  (a) extent to which the percentage of contracts handed to small to medium-sized enterprises has changed in the authorities which have adopted the Small Business Friendly Concordat and  (b) impact of the concordat on overall procurement costs; and if she will make a statement;
	(5)  whether the Small Business Friendly Concordat has affected the level of local authority procurement from local businesses; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Small Business Friendly Concordat: Good Practice Guidance was launched by the then ODPM, the Local Government Association and the DTI's Small Business Service on 1 March 2005. The concordat is a voluntary, non-statutory code of practice that sets out what small firms and others supplying local Government can expect when tendering for local authority contacts. The concordat also sets out actions that local authorities will take to make their contracts more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). There are no plans to make the concordat a compulsory agreement.
	Records maintained by Communities and Local Government indicate that currently 120 local authorities in England have signed up to the concordat, equating to approximately 31 per cent. of councils. Estimates from research commissioned by the Department suggest that as at January 2006 around63 per cent. of local authorities had either signed up to the Small Business Friendly Concordat or were planning to do so by the end of 2005-06. We continue through a range of means to encourage authorities to sign up to the concordat, for example, as part of a series of 10 roadshows around the English regions attended by both buyers and suppliers.
	The Department's research evaluation of the local Government procurement agenda primarily focuses on monitoring local authorities' achievements against the National Procurement Strategy for Local Government. The next output of our evaluation, expected to be published by early 2008, will assess progress in a number of areas of local Government procurement, including continuing progress with the concordat. Further research is under way through the Regional Centres of Excellence to analyse the external spend of local authorities, which may include an assessment of the proportion spent with SMEs.

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made on the appointment of new judges for the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Lord Chancellor has madethe appointments for the fee-paid competition to fill 210 posts in London and the regions, and results were despatched to applicants on 6 November 2006. Assignment of successful applicants to locations around the country has been delegated to the President of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Induction training arrangements are in hand for those applicants offered appointment.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in her Department in  (a) 2001-02 and  (b) 2002-03; and how many officials received bonuses in each year.

Harriet Harman: Total bonus paid to members of the senior civil service in DCA in  (a) the year 2001-02 was 100,730 and 39 officials received a bonus in that year.
	Total bonus paid to members of the senior civil service in DCA in  (b) the year 2002-03, was 170,557 and 43 officials received a bonus in that year.
	Total performance bonus paid to staff beneath the grade of senior civil service in  (a) the year 2001-02 was 263,700. 879 officials received non-consolidated of 300 bonus in that year. Non-consolidated special bonus to the amount of 99,346 were paid to 333 officers in that year.
	Total performance bonus paid to staff beneath the grade of senior civil servant in  (b) the year 2002-03 was 429,450. 1,127 officials received a non-consolidated bonus of 350 in that year. Non-consolidated special bonus to the amount of 82,701 were paid to 960 officers in that year.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what criteria a civil servant in her Department must fulfil  (a) to be considered for a bonus on top of their regular salary and  (b) to be awarded a bonus.

Harriet Harman: Members of the senior civil service within the Department receive non-consolidated cash payments known as bonus in recognition of their performance in relation to achieving their agreed objectives or a short term personal contribution to wider organisational objective.
	Civil servants in non senior civil service grades may receive bonus under two separate arrangements.
	Under the performance management system they are eligible to receive non-consolidated cash payments known as a performance bonus. Currently this is 400 although in 2001-02 it was 300 and 2002-03 it was 350).
	The criterion for a performance bonus is that a member of staff
	regularly achieved performance well above what was agreed in your performance and development plan
	Eligibility is set out in the guidance issued to line managers on performance management. Each year an individual staff member's performance is measured against a set of key responsibilities and job objectives appropriate to their particular grade.
	Under the recognition system, staff in thesegrades are also eligible to be nominated for a non-consolidated special bonus. These awards start at a value of 50 and are awarded in recognitionof exceptional performance on specific tasks, i.e. performance above and beyond what could normally be expected of the individual in fulfilling their normal duties. Staff may be nominated for a special bonus either by their own line manager or by colleagues. Dependant on their terms and conditions, staff in the magistrates courts service who joined the Department by TUPE on the 1 April 2005 may be eligible, on criteria set at the discretion of their local Justices' Clerk or by their local terms and conditions, to receive an honaria.

E-voting Pilots

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the budget is for the e-voting pilots in the May 2007 local elections.

Bridget Prentice: The total DCA budget for funding the 2007 pilots is likely to be between 5 and10 million, depending on the number and content of pilots approved by the Secretary of State.

Housing Conference

Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether she will be attending the Regeneration and Housing Conference at the University of Bedfordshire at Putteridge Bury on11 December in a ministerial capacity.

Hilary Armstrong: I will not be attendingthe Regeneration and Housing Conference on11 December 2006.

Knowledge Network

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who the 20 customers are of the new version of the Knowledge Network.

Patrick McFadden: The application names and customers are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Application Name  Customer 
			 Briefing engine for sub-national statistics Regional Co-ordination Unit (reports to Department for Communities and Local Government) 
			 Cabinet committee papers Cabinet Office 
			 CCS cross-Government exercise database Cabinet Office 
			 Consumer direct online knowledge base Office of Fair Trading 
			 DCA communications and briefing system Department for Constitutional Affairs 
			 DfES briefing system Department for Education and Skills 
			 DWP briefing system Department for Work and Pensions 
			 Electronic library for Government Department of Health 
			 Forward look Cabinet Office 
			 Housing benefit data service Department for Work and Pensions 
			 Legal information online network 2 Treasury Solicitors 
			 Overseas market introduction service United Kingdom Trade and Investment 
			 Statisticians' community of practice Office of National Statistics 
			 World search Department for Work and Pensions 
			 Economic policy network Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 European Union policy Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 Science and technology network Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 Sustainable development network Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 e-PQ'sHome Office Home Office 
			 CircularsHome Office Home Office

Cold Weather Payments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at what level cold weather payments were in each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07; and how many people received cold weather payments in each of these years.

James Plaskitt: The level of a cold weather payment in each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07 was 8.50 for each period of seven consecutive days when the average temperature was recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below at the weather station linked to an eligible customer's postcode.
	The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			   Estimated number of people who received cold weather payments 
			 2002-03 1,350,000 
			 2003-04 280,000 
			 2004-05 170,000 
			 2005-06 610,000 
			 2006-07 0 so far 
			  Notes: 1. Some people received more than one cold weather payment in a financial year. Therefore the number of cold weather payments made each year was greater than the number of people who received them. 2. The first two sources allow estimates for each year of the number of people who received cold weather payments and the number of payments made. The comparison between the estimated and actual numbers of payments made has been used to refine the estimate of the number of people who received payments. 3. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.  Sources: 1. Scans of the benefit systems taken at the end of October in each financial year giving the estimated numbers of qualifiers by weather station. (This excludes people on income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance who qualified because they had a disabled child aged five or over and who received support for that child via child tax credit.) 2. Lists of weather stations for which cold weather payments were actually made. 3. Monthly reports of the actual numbers of cold weather payments made.

Information Prescription

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which areas he expects trials of the information prescription to take place; how many people will be involved in the trials; what funding has been allocated for those trials; when he expects trials to begin; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	Information prescriptions pilots will take place initially in the areas of cancer, mental health and vulnerable older people. The number of people involved has not yet been determined. The initiative has funding of 1.35 million. The cancer pilots are being developed in partnership with Macmillanand Cancerbackup and are expected to begin in December 2006.

National Insurance Deficiency Notices

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance deficiency notices have been distributed since  (a) 30 November 2005 and  (b) 25 May 2006; and how many of these have been sent to individuals who would reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2010 and who could potentially achieve at least 30 qualifying years without paying any class 3 national insurance contributions.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The total number of deficiency notices issuedfor the 2003-04 tax year since 30 November 2005 was 1.26 million. HMRC started issuing deficiency notices for the 2004-05 tax year in September 2006 and so far has issued 2.5 million. The deficiency notices issued since September 2006 include information on the proposed changes to qualifying years.
	Information on the numbers of individuals due to reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2010 who have paid class 3 national insurance contributions  (a) since 25 May 2006 and  (b) since 30 November 2005 is not readily available.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average rate of private sector employer contribution into (a) defined benefit pension schemes and  (b) defined contribution pension schemes in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: In 2005 the overall weighted average employer contribution rates for private sector occupational pension schemes, estimated across all schemes with 12 or more members, were 16.0 per cent. in defined benefit schemes and 6.3 per cent. in defined contribution schemes. Contribution rates to open schemes were 13.9 per cent. in defined benefit schemes and 6.0 per cent. in defined contribution schemes.
	Where private sector employers make contributions to stakeholder pensions or group personal pensions, estimated median employer contribution rates were6 per cent. for stakeholder pensions and eight per cent for group personal pensions in 2005.

Poverty

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of households in each UK constituency are  (a) from ethnic minority backgrounds,  (b) living in poverty and  (c) from ethnic minority backgrounds and living in poverty.

Jim Murphy: The figures are not available by UK constituency.
	Information on the percentage of people in Great Britain from each ethnic group living in low income households is available in the Households Below Average Income 2004-05 publication, table 3.5 onpage 30. This is available in the House of Commons Library.

Armed Forces Leave

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) highest and  (b) average amount was of leave not taken in the last leave year and not carried over in the (i) Army, (ii) Royal Navy and(iii) Royal Air Force.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is not held centrally. However, the Defence Analytical Services Agency undertake an annual Survey of Leave(1): The survey report includes estimates of the average number of leave days lost per person for each service. These estimates for the 2005-06 leave year are shown in the following table.
	(1) The survey includes all trained personnel from OR1 to OF6.
	
		
			  2005-06  Estimated average number of annual leave days not taken and not carried over 
			 Naval Service(1) 0.4 
			 Army 2.4 
			 RAF 1.1 
			 (1) Naval Service includes the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines 
		
	
	Because the Survey of Leave is a sample survey it cannot identify the highest value in the population as a whole. Moreover, the highest figures within the survey sample are not considered robust enough to report in isolation.
	The 2005-06 copy of the Survey of Leave report will be available in the Library of the House within the next four weeks.

Armoured Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors he took into account when deciding to purchase a combination of Cougar and Vector Pinzgauer armoured vehicles rather than one large batch of one type of vehicle.

Adam Ingram: These vehicles provide different capabilities. Vector is relatively light and agile and has high levels of terrain accessibility, particularly over rugged terrain. These factors make it particularly suited for long range patrols, which are a feature of operations in Afghanistan.
	The heavier Cougar vehicle, which will be known as Mastiff when in service with UK armed forces, provides higher levels of protection, but is larger and less agile over rugged terrain. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 November 2006,  Official Report, column 797W, which covered the factors considered in order to meet the requirement for a medium Protected Patrol Vehicle.
	Alongside other platforms, Vector and Mastiff will provide commanders with range of vehicles of varying protection, mobility and profile, to be used according to operational circumstances.

Armoured Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) Cougar and  (b) Vector Pinzgauer armoured vehicles are being purchased by his Department.

Adam Ingram: We are currently procuring around100 Cougar vehicles, to be known as MASTIFFwhen in service with UK armed forces, and around160 VECTOR vehicles.

Bevin Boys

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent meetings he has had with the Bevin Boys Association to discuss the case for a medal for Bevin Boys; and when he expects to report on the outcome of his work examining the merits of such a medal.

Derek Twigg: My office has been in regular contact with the Vice President of the, Bevin Boys Association since officials met him on 30 August 2006. I plan to meet him shortly. I am also consulting with interested ministerial colleagues and will make an announcement on this work in due course.

Falklands Anniversary

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list of the stakeholders being consulted about the commemorations planned for the 25(th) Anniversary of the Falklands conflict.

Derek Twigg: The list of stakeholders being consulted by the Department about the Falklands25 commemorations is extensive and continues to grow. To date it has included:
	The Confederation of British Service and Ex-Service Organisations;
	South Atlantic Medal Association 82;
	HM Ship, regimental and squadron associations;
	Merchant Navy Association;
	Trustees of FI Memorial Chapel Pangbourne;
	Falklands Families Association;
	Buckingham Palace Staff and other Royal Households;
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
	Archbishop of Canterbury's Office;
	Baroness Thatcher's office;
	Falkland Islands Government;
	British Broadcast Corporation;
	Corporation of London;
	Metropolitan and City of London Police;
	Vulcan to the Sky project;
	Royal Parks;
	Civil Aviation Authority;
	Chamber of Shipping;
	Westminster City Council;
	Pangbourne College;
	Falklands Defence Force;

Falklands Anniversary

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that the whole House has ownership of the commemoration of the 25(th )Anniversary of the Falklands conflict, as urged by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in his answer on 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 11; and which Opposition hon. Members have been consulted.

Derek Twigg: It is my intention to keep the House fully informed about our plans for the Falklands 25 commemorations and I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 16 November 2006,  Official Report, column 2WS; a further update will be provided to the House early next year. I hope that Members from all parties will apply, via the Speaker's Office, to participate in the event planned on Horse Guards Parade on 17 June 2007.
	I would be happy to meet with opposition defence spokesmen to discuss the commemorations in more detail if that would be helpful.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what risk assessments had been carried out with regards to personnel transfers on the Shatt-al-Arab waterway prior to the fatal attack on12 November.

Des Browne: Risk assessments and force protection reviews are carried out constantly, in line with current and evolving threats, into all forms of movement by Multi-National Division (South East). We take the threat to our forces very seriously and a range of measures are available to minimise risks. These include protection, provided through evolving tactics, techniques and procedures as well as physical means such as armour and other technical means. Commanders within theatre have a range of options available to them and choose the most appropriate for a given task.

QinetiQ

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage shareholding his Department has in QinetiQ.

Adam Ingram: The Department currently has a19.2 per cent. shareholding in QinetiQ.

Voluntary Outflow

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many voluntary outflow exits there were from the regular  (a) infantry,  (b) Royal Artillery,  (c) Royal Engineers,  (d) Royal Corps of Signals,  (e) Royal Armoured Corps,  (f) Household Cavalry and  (g) Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers in (i) each year since 1997 and (ii) each of the last 12 months.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 216W and on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1490W, for the number of voluntary outflow exitseach year since 1997. The following table shows the number of voluntary outflow exits for each of the last 12 months.
	
		
			  Numbers of voluntary outflow (VO) of trained regular Army offices and soldiers from 1 September 2005 to 31 August 2006 
			  Arm/Service  Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps  Royal Regiment of Artillery  Corps of Royal Engineers  Royal Corps of Signals  The Infantry  Corps of Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers  Total 
			  2005
			 September 50 40 80 30 140 40 390 
			 October 30 30 60 40 110 50 330 
			 November 40 40 60 40 120 40 320 
			 December 20 40 30 40 80 20 230 
			  2006
			 January 40 50 70 40 200 40 450 
			 February 20 30 30 40 150 30 310 
			 March 20 30 50 40 130 40 320 
			 April 30 40 60 40 160 40 360 
			 May 30 40 60 30 140 40 330 
			 June 30 40 40 40 160 30 340 
			 July 30 40 50 30 120 40 300 
			 August 20 40 60 50 130 30 330 
			  Notes: 1. The term premature voluntary release has been changed to voluntary outflow (VO), although the methodology remains the same. 2. VO is defined as all exits from trained personnel which are generated by the individual before their time expiry.  3. The figures are based on all voluntary outflow from the Trained strength of the UK Regular Army. 4. Figures exclude officers in the general staff (i.e. those with a rank of Colonel and above). 5. All data have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. Numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Winter Supplementary Estimates

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates 2006-07 (HC2), if he will break down the  (a) current and  (b) revised request for resources one, two and three provision for each subhead by (i) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL), (ii) indirect resource DEL and (iii) capital DEL.

Des Browne: The current and revised request for resources one, two and three provision for each sub head by  (a) direct resource departmental expenditure limit (DEL),  (b) indirect resource DEL and  (c) capital DEL (Net) are set out in tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Composition of request for resources one, two and three in direct resource DEL and indirect resource DEL terms by TLB at winter supplementary estimates 2006-07 
			  000 
			  TLB  Estimate Type  Main Estimates  Winter Supps 
			  Fleet
			  Direct Resource DEL 2,101,506 2,138,670 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 2,096,868 84,096 
			  Total Resource DEL 4,198,374 2,222,766 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect -5,718 -5,718 
			  Total AME -5,718 -5,718 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Fleet  4,192,656 2,217,048 
			 
			  General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland   
			  Direct Resource DEL 476,759 399,071 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 94,615 1,436 
			  Total Resource DEL 571,374 400,507 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland 571,374 400,507 
			
			  Commander in Chief Land Command   
			  Direct Resource DEL 4,358,352 4,302,643 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 1,360,226 20,320 
			  Total Resource DEL 5,718,578 4,322,963 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Commander in Chief Land Command 5,718,578 4,322,963 
			
			  Air Officer Commanding In Chief RAF Strike Command   
			  Direct Resource DEL 1,865,712 1,924,143 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 1,864,028 122,231 
			  Total Resource DEL 3,729,740 2,046,374 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Air Officer Commanding In Chief RAF Strike Command 3,729,740 2,046,374 
			
			  Chief of Joint Operations   
			  Direct Resource DEL 383,180 352,839 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 139,307 6,951 
			  Total Resource DEL 522,487 359,790 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect -4,000 -4,000 
			  Total AME -4,000 -4,000 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Chief of Joint Operations  518,487 355,790 
			
			  Chief of Defence Logistics   
			  Direct Resource DEL 4,453,296 4,806,078 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 2,853,825 8,337,939 
			  Total Resource DEL 7,307,121 13,144,017 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 9,910 9,910 
			  Total AME 9,910 9,910 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Chief of Defence Logistics 7,317,031 13,153,927 
			  
			  Adjutant General   
			  Direct Resource DEL 1,622,465 1,590,549 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 160,459 1,516 
			  Total Resource DEL 1,782,924 1,592,065 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 9,152 9,152 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 9,152 9,152 
			 Total Adjutant General 1,792,076 1,601,217 
			
			  Chief RAF Personnel and Training Command   
			  Direct Resource DEL 765,507 814,092 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 160,959 45,271 
			  Total Resource DEL 926,466 859,363 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Chief RAF Personnel and Training Command 926,466 859,363 
			
			  Central   
			  Direct Resource DEL 2,098,460 2,083,419 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 1,219,381 111,459 
			  Total Resource DEL 3,317,841 2,194,878 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 2,360 2,360 
			  Total AME 2,360 2,360 
			  Non Budget Direct 578 578 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 578 578 
			 Total Central 3,320,779 2,197,816 
			 
			  Defence Estates
			  Direct Resource DEL 902,507 1,092,054 
			  Indirect Resource DEL -751 1,278,430 
			  Total Resource DEL 901,756 2,370,484 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 2,700 2,700 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 2,700 2,700 
			 Total Defence Estates  904,456 2,373,184 
			 
			  Defence Procurement Agency   
			  Direct Resource DEL 1,574,061 1,327,193 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 710,447 549,715 
			  Total Resource DEL 2,284,508 1,876,908 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 175,505 175,505 
			  Total AME 175,505 175,505 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Defence Procurement Agency 2,460,013 2,052,413 
			 
			  Corporate Science and Technology   
			  Direct Resource DEL 538,452 529,778 
			  Indirect Resource DEL -4,252 -4,252 
			  Total Resource DEL 534,200 525,526 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Corporate Science and Technology 534,200 525,526 
			 
			  Conflict Prevention RFR2   
			  Direct Resource DEL 47,326 1,087,326 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 0 0 
			  Total Resource DEL 47,326 1,087,326 
			  AME Direct 0 0 
			  AME Indirect 0 0 
			  Total AME 0 0 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total Conflict Prevention RFR2 47,326 1,087,326 
			 
			  War Pensions and Benefits RFR3   
			  Direct Resource DEL 0 0 
			  Indirect Resource DEL 0 0 
			  Total Resource DEL 0 0 
			  AME Direct -648 -643 
			  AME Indirect 1,030,599 1,038,304 
			  Total AME 1,029,951 1,037,661 
			  Non Budget Direct 0 0 
			  Non Budget Indirect 0 0 
			  Total Non Budget 0 0 
			 Total War Pensions and Benefits RFR3 1,029,951 1,037,661 
			 
			  MOD Total 33,063,133 34,231,115 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Composition of request for resources one, two and three in net capital DEL TLB at winter supplementary estimates 2006-07 
			  000 
			   Main Estimates  Winter Supps 
			  Net Capital DEL   
			 Fleet 33,101 20,768 
			 General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland 46,664 3,513 
			 Commander in Chief Land Command 176,762 92,637 
			 Air Officer Commanding In Chief RAF Strike Command 77,223 42,363 
			 Chief of Joint Operations 26,721 25,389 
			 Chief of Defence Logistics 1,027,274 1,512,616 
			 Adjutant General 16,274 8,968 
			 Chief RAF Personnel and Training Command 35,209 39,617 
			 Central 65,063 36,302 
			 Defence Estates 32,213 35,281 
			 Defence Procurement Agency 5,396,735 5,187,785 
			 Corporate Science and Technology 0 0 
			 Conflict Prevention RFR2 0 360,000 
			 War Pensions and Benefits RFR3 0 0 
			
			 MOD Total 6,933,239 7,365,239

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in  (a) 2001-02 and  (b) 2002-03;
	(2)  how many civil servants in his Department received bonuses in  (a) 2001-02 and  (b) 2002-03.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department of Trade and Industry awards non-consolidated bonuses in two formats:
	1. Special bonuses for exceptional performance in particularly demanding tasks or situations. Staff in receipt of a special bonus may also receive an annual performance award.
	2. Annual performance awards paid to highly successful performers as part of the annual pay award.
	Based on the information available the number of staff receiving these awards and the amounts paid for 2001-02 and 2002-03 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   2001-02  2002-03 
			  Special bonuses   
			 Number of staff receiving (1)n/a (1)n/a 
			 Total value () (1)n/a (1)n/a 
			
			  Performance awards   
			 Number of staff receiving 834 1,125 
			 Total value () 538,545 1,579,906 
			 (1) Figures for special bonuses paid in 2001-02 and 2002-03 can be made available only at disproportionate costs due to a change in accounting computer system.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria a civil servant in his Department needs to fulfil  (a) to be considered for a bonus on top of their regular salary and  (b) to be awarded a bonus.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The DTI currently operates the two bonus schemes. One is for special Bonuses. The other is performance related and is dependent upon the achievement of objectives.
	 Special Bonus
	Special bonuses are a means of rewarding staff in any posts who have performed exceptionally well in particularly demanding tasks or situations. All staff are eligible for consideration for the award of a special bonus and these can be used to reward either individuals or teams. Responsibility for authorising an award lies with the relevant Director General or Chief Executive.
	 Performance Related Bonus
	At the end of the reporting year each member of staff s performance is assessed against the objectives agreed at the start of the reporting period. It is the responsibility of the Line Manager in consultation with their Manager to assess the individual's performance using guidance. Standard setting meetings are held to ensure there is a common understandingof the standards of performance expected from individuals in each range. A combination of achievements against objectives and personal effectiveness is taken into consideration when assessing performance. All staff are eligible to be considered for a bonus but these are only awarded to staff who have fully met expectations, exceeded some objectives and or consistently performed well above expectation.

Burma (Exports)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the British exports to Burma were in each of the past five years; and what the value of the exports was in each year.

Ian McCartney: The Government have a long-standing policy of not encouraging British firms to trade with or invest in Burma. We offer no commercial services to companies wishing to trade with or invest in Burma. British companies who inquire about trade with Burma are informed of the grave political situation, the regime's atrocious record on human rights and the country's dire economic prospects.
	The data requested is contained in the following table:
	
		
			  UK exports of goods to Burma 2001-05 at two digit standard international trade classification (SITC) level 
			  000 
			  SITC  Description  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Total 9,452 7,345 5,001 2,164 9,964 
			
			 00 Live animals 4   6 5 
			 03 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc (not marine mammals)3  
			 04 Cereals and cereal preparations 126 171 19   
			 05 Vegetables and fruit 1 
			 06 Sugar, sugar preparations and honey 4  1   
			 08 Feeding stuff for animals not incl. unmilled cereals 5 19  27 4 
			 09 Miscellaneous edible products and preparations 48 53 2  22 
			 11 Beverages 6 24 833 77 340 
			 12 Tobacco and tobacco manufactures   194 6  
			 23 Crude rubber (incl. synthetic and reclaimed) 1 
			 24 Cork and wood  56
			 26 Textile fibres  15
			 27 Crude fertilisers and crude minerals 21   4  
			 28 Metalliferous ores and metal scrap 4 27
			 29 Crude animal and vegetable materials 1 
			 33 Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials 41 50 18 23 22 
			 42 Fixed vegetable fats and oils; crude, refined or fractionated  3
			 43 Animal and vegetable oils and fats, processed, and waxes  4
			 51 Organic chemicals 63 44  3 15 
			 52 Inorganic chemicals  63 10 5 46 
			 53 Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials 48 26 5  10 
			 54 Medicinal and pharmaceutical products 552 190 114 212 188 
			 55 Essential oils, perfume materials; toilet and cleansing preparations 458 350 254 201 140 
			 56 Fertilizers, other than those in 27 1  5 6  
			 57 Plastics in primary forms 111 36  27  
			 58 Plastics in non-primary forms 48 4   24 
			 59 Chemical materials and productsnes 98 844 27 71 63 
			 62 Rubber manufacturesnes 28517 
			 63 Cork and wood manufactures (excl. furniture) 1 
			 64 Paper, paperboard, and articles of paper pulp; etc. 63  1 4 2 
			 65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articlesnes 27 38 67 79 88 
			 66 Non-metallic mineral manufactures 72 36 52 86 110 
			 67 Iron and steel 147 
			 68 Non-ferrous metals 19 48  243  
			 69 Manufactures of metalnes 422 773 11 9 15 
			 71 Power generating machinery and equipment 3,567 3,198 2,734 362 1,038 
			 72 Specialised industrial machinery 252 133 113 15 7 
			 73 Metalworking machinery 3 65 15 11 10 
			 74 General industrial machinery and equipmentnes 209 130 85 56 150 
			 75 Office machines and ADP equipment 141 163 41 112 63 
			 76 Telecommunications, sound recording and reproducing apparatus 386 94 17 163 49 
			 77 Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, partsnes 1,147 234 118 78 28 
			 78 Road vehicles 90 35 9 1  
			 79 Other transport equipment 59 95 52 24 7,251 
			 81 Prefabricated buildings; fixtures and fittings1  
			 82 Furniture, bedding, mattresses, cushions and similar stuffed furnishing  17  1  
			 83 Travel goods, handbags and similar containers 3 
			 84 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories 58 44 5 15  
			 85 Footwear 16 
			 87 Professional, scientific and control instruments and apparatusnes 694 228 119 145 205 
			 88 Photographic apparatus, supplies and optical goods, watches and clocks 11 8 2 20 5 
			 89 Miscellaneous manufactured articlenes 134 17 52 34 28 
			 90 Low value and other goods not classified elsewhere 4 10 26 33 19 
			 nes = Not elsewhere specified.  Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding was provided to citizens advice bureaux to support advice to tax credit claimants in each of the last four years.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 23 November 2006
	The funding is provided by HM Revenue and Customs. I refer you to the reply given by PMG on 17 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1084-85W, to the hon. Member for Vale of Clwyd (Chris Ruane).

Coal Health Compensation Scheme

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many successful claims have been registered in post code areas  (a) LE1,  (b) LE2 and  (c) LE5 for (i) vibration white finger and (ii) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease under the coal health compensation scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The numbers of claims submitted and settled by payment in the areas listed are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Respiratory disease  Vibration White Finger 
			  Claims  Submitted  Settled by payment  Submitted  Settled by payment 
			 LEI 8 7 2 1 
			 LE2 166 99 33 18 
			 LE5 95 57 13 11 
			 Total 269 163 48 30

Community Interest Companies

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many community interest companies have been formally incorporated in the East Midlands region in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: A total of 36 Community Interest Companies (CICs) have been formally incorporated in the East Midlands' region since 1 November 2005.

Departmental Publications

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total design and printing cost was for his Department's publication Promoting Female Entrepreneurship.

Margaret Hodge: The total design and printing cost for producing 5,000 copies of Promoting Female Entrepreneurship booklet in March 2005 was 1,270. A reprint for a further 3,000 copies was undertaken in March 2006 at a cost of 855.

DNA Sequestration

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which organisations have been asked to alert the Government if they become aware of any significant advances in DNA sequestration which may lead to major technological changes; and what arrangements are in place to contact the Government in this instance.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 22 November 2006
	The Royal Society, Biosciences Federation, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, Nuffield Trust and Wellcome Trust have been asked to alert the Science Minister if they become aware of any step change in technologies which could make it much easier to construct or modify pathogenic organisms. The issue was also raised at a regular meeting of a regulatory advisory group comprising Government officialsand representatives of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in turning the existing bilateral agreements into a free trade area; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: In the Barcelona Declaration of 1995, the Euro-Mediterranean Partners agreed on the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area (FTA) by 2010. At bilateral level, every Mediterranean country involved in the EuroMed Partnership, except for Syria (pending Council decision on signature), has concluded and currently implements Association Agreements with the EU. These Association Agreements constitute the foundation on which free trade is developing in the Mediterranean region.
	One of the most visible results of the Barcelona Process to date is the liberalisation of trade in manufactured goods, for which the Mediterranean Partners now enjoy duty free access to the EU market. The Mediterranean countries are progressively dismantling their tariffs on imports of EU industrial goods over a maximum period of 12 years. In addition, important progress has been achieved through the adoption of the new Pan-Euro-Med Rules of Origin allowing for diagonal cumulation, progress on trade facilitation, removal of non-tariff barriers, and greater transparency and predictability in the implementation of trade policy measures in the Mediterranean countries. Negotiations are currently under way in the areas of agriculture, services and investment, and to incorporate a dispute settlement mechanism into the Association Agreements between the EU and the Mediterranean partners.

European Communities (Pooling of Activity)

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is on future pooling of activity under the umbrella of the European Communities; and what proposals are under discussion for such an approach, further to his statement of1 November 2006,  Official Report, columns 531-32W.

Malcolm Wicks: The UK supports the general aim of the European Polar Consortium to improve the co-ordination of polar research within Europe and internationally. The consortium has begun to identify common areas of research suitable for collaboration, such as climate change. However, it currently accepts that co-ordination of funding from different sources to support collaboration on research programmes is more appropriate than integration into a single funding stream.

Hazardous Substances

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what  (a) resources and  (b) enforcement procedures are in place to prevent the import of goods from outside the European Union which do not comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations; at which ports such procedures operate; and what forecast has been made of the percentage of relevant electrical equipment which will be checked.

Malcolm Wicks: The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 1463) contains full details of the enforcement powers that the National Weights and Measures Laboratorythe enforcement authority for these regulationshold. Copies of the regulations have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The Regulations apply to electrical and electrical equipment put on the market, so no distinction is made between the importers of such equipment into the EU and manufacturers within the EU. There is, therefore, no inspection system that will operate at UK ports or a mechanism in place to forecast the percentage of equipment that will be checked.

Hazardous Substances

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by the Institute of Reference Materials and Measurements for the European Commission in developing reference materials suitable for use in testing whether components are compliant with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (and, consequently, the UK Regulations) does not prescribe compliance procedures and testing methods to be applied. I understand from the European Commission, however, that the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements now has seven reference materials available for metal matrices certified for lead, cadmium and hexavalent chromium; two for ceramic matrices certified for cadmium and lead; and six for polymer matrices certified for cadmium, lead, mercury, bromine and hexavalent chromium. These reference materials have not been specifically certified for the RoHS Directive but can be used for such a purpose.

Internet Governance

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to hold regional and national conferences before the next Internet Governance Forum in Brazil in November 2007.

Margaret Hodge: DTI is not currently planning to hold regional or national conferences before the Internet Governance Forum in Brazil.
	The world summit on the Information Society in November 2005 agreed to hold the forum as a way to improve understanding of the international public policy issues associated with the internet through multi-stakeholder dialogue. DTI held an initial consultation meeting in January 2006, but we have been keen to encourage UK stakeholders to take the lead: we want to see a strong industry and civil society engagement in the process.
	This approach worked well for the first IGF meeting, with preparatory events organised by Nominet UK and the Oxford Internet Institute. The event 'The Parliament and the Internet: Workshop on Internet Governance' on 12 October which you organised also contributed to improving awareness and understanding of the issues. By working with key stakeholders we ensured strong UK involvement with good participation from the media, civil society and the internet industry in the UK.
	We propose to adopt a similar approach in preparation for the second meeting.

Internet Governance

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what agreement was reached on spam at the Internet Governance Forum in Athens.

Margaret Hodge: The Internet Governance Forum is not a negotiating forum, but a framework for sharing best practice and for promoting cooperation between stakeholders.
	It was used as a platform to launch the Stop Spam Alliance bringing together the OECD, ITU, APEC, the Contact Network of Spam Authorities, and the London Action Plan. The alliance is a joint initiative to gather information and resources on combating spam and will provide easy internet access to information about the main international anti-spam initiatives.
	The alliance is one of the dynamic coalitions established by the IGF to continue discussion and cooperation in preparation for the 2007 meeting.

National Institute for Energy Technologies

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding is available to the National Institute for Energy Technologies; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Postal Services to the hon. Member for Rayleigh (Mr. Francois) on 1 November 2006,  Official Report, column 529W.

Privatisations

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made with the sale of  (a) Westinghouse,  (b) the Tote and  (c) part of British Energy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows.
	 Westinghouse
	The sale of Westinghouse was completed on 16 October.
	 The Tote
	The Government remain committed to selling the Tote and has been in discussions over the summer with Racing to determine whether they are likely to be able to make an offer that achieves policy objectives and safeguards value for money for the taxpayer. Other sale options will be considered if we are unable to sell the business to Racing.
	 British Energy
	We have stated that the Government are actively considering selling part of their interest in British Energy.

Science Base

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives he  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to enhance the science base in the UK economy.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014 and subsequent annual progress reports set out in detail the actions taken by the Government to enhance the science base in the UK economy, including measures to enhance the UK's world class research standing, increase knowledge transfer, improve its responsiveness to the needs of the economy, increase business engagement and ensure a strong supply of scientists, engineers and technologists. The Government have more than doubled the Science Budget from 1.3 billion in 1997 to 3.2 billion in 2006 to support its ambition to make the UK the first destination in the world for science and innovation.
	 (b) Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014: Next Steps published alongside Budget 2006 sets out the Government's proposals to continue to enhance the research base and includes plans to further develop the Technology Strategy Board as a business led arm's length body, extend research and development tax credits to companies with between 250 and 500 employees, provide a more coherent framework for health research and development and reforms to the Research Assessment Exercise.
	Copies of the Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014, Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014 Annual Reports 2005, 2006 and Next Steps are available in the House Library or from the DTI website at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science-funding/framework/page9306.html.

Crime Statistics

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cautions were issued in the Cambridgeshire constabulary area for  (a) violence against the person,  (b) theft and handling stolen goods,  (c) sexual offences,  (d) criminal damage,  (e) robbery and  (f) fraud and forgery in 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 November 2006
	Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the number of cautions, issued for  (a) violence against the person,  (b) theft and handling stolen goods,  (c) sexual offences,  (d) criminal damage,  (e) robbery and  (f) fraud and forgery in Cambridgeshire police force area in 2005 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of persons cautioned for various offence types, in Cambridgeshire police force area, 2005( 1,2) 
			  Offence type  Number 
			 Violence against the person 1,049 
			 Sexual offences 32 
			 Burglary 79 
			 Robbery 6 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 1,169 
			 Fraud and forgery 75 
			 Criminal damage 19 
			 Drug offences 427 
			 Other indictable offences 126 
			 Summary offences (excluding motoring) 1,003 
			 Total 3,985 
			 (1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal Injuries Compensation Panel

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals have been determined by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Panel in each of the last five years; and what percentage of appeals was successful in each year.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table sets out, for each of the last five years, the number of appeals determined by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel (CICAP) and the success rate (measured by the appellant doing better than the review decision of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Authority that was appealed against). These statistics are published in CICAP's annual report and accounts, copies of which are placed in the Library.
	
		
			  Financial year  Appeals determined  Success rate (percentage) 
			 2001-02 4,650 45 
			 2002-03 3,940 40 
			 2003-04 4,079 46 
			 2004-05 3,983 47.4 
			 2005-06 3,482 46.8

Gun Crime

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce the number of gun crimes in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Government are taking action on a number of fronts to deal with gun crime through tougher legislation, law enforcement and community engagement. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced a minimum five year sentence for unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm. The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, which received royal assent on 8 November, toughens the legislation further. It includes a ban on the sale, manufacture and importation of realistic imitation firearms, a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon and additional restrictions on the sale and use of air weapons.
	We consider that working with communities is central to tackling gun crime.
	We are supporting community groups through our Connected Fund which was established in 2004 to provide grants to local community-led groups working on gun crime, knife crime and gang-related issues. To date the Fund has supported 300 organisations. We have also supported national projects such as the Don't Trigger Campaign run by Urban Concepts and Mothers Against Guns.
	The National Ballistics Intelligence Programme, a state-of-the-art firearms forensic capability which is being developed with Government backing, will provide tactical and strategic information to inform enforcement operations and longer-term policy work.
	The Government support the work of dedicated, intelligence-led gun crime operations such as Operation Trident in London and Operation X-Caliber in Greater Manchester, Ventara in the West Midlands and Stealth in Nottinghamshire which are producing good results.

Identity Cards/Passports

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to page nine of the First Section 37 Report to the Parliament About the Likely Costs of the ID Cards Scheme, what existing assets and resources the review identified opportunities to use to reduce delivery and cost risks.

Joan Ryan: The review identified that there may be existing technical infrastructure and systems that could be used as the basis for reducing the delivery and cost risks associated with the identity card project.

Identity Cards/Passports

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he defines, touched by identity fraud, as used in the First Section 37 Report to Parliament About the Likely Cost of the ID Cards Scheme; and how the calculation that one in five companies could be hit by identity fraud was made in that report.

Joan Ryan: The phrase touched by identity fraud refers to those who have been a victim of identity fraud or know someone who has been a victim.
	An economic survey amongst companies conducted in 2004 by RSM Robson Rhodes LLP showed 17 per cent. of companies reported having their identity stolen or hijacked in the past year.

Identity Cards/Passports

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will determine whether the number of a designated document under schedule 1, paragraph 4(1) of the Identity Cards Act 2006 should be held in the National Identity Register.

Joan Ryan: Paragraph 4(1)(I) of schedule 1 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 allows the recording of the number of any designated document which does not fall within any of the preceding sub-paragraphs of that schedule. The decision on which numbers are to be recorded is for the Secretary of State.

Illegal Alcohol Sales

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licensed premises were closed down by  (a) police and  (b) local authorities for selling alcohol illegally in (i) Dudley, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office does not collect local or regional figures for the number of licensed premises that have been closed down by police and local authorities for selling alcohol illegally. Figures from the DCMS statistically bulletin on Liquor Licensing (2004) show that the total number of licences revoked, or not renewed, in England and Wales for the following years are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1995 378 
			 1998 317 
			 2001 183 
			 2004 354

Illegal Alcohol Sales

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what penalties may be imposed in cases where licensed premises sell alcohol illegally.

Shaun Woodward: I have been asked to reply.
	Penalties which may currently be imposed on conviction for offences involving the unlawful sale or exposure for sale of alcohol under the Licensing Act 2003 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Section of the 2003 Act and offence  Maximum sentence on summary conviction 
			  S136(1)  
			 (a) Carrying on a licensable activity on or from any premises otherwise than under and in accordance with an authorisation (includes unauthorised sales of alcohol); or (b) knowingly allowing a licensable activity to be so carried on. Imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding 20,000, or both. 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S137  
			 On any premises, exposing for sale by retail alcohol in circumstances where the sale by retail of that alcohol on those premises would be an unauthorised licensable activity. Imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding 20,000, or both. 
			  Alcohol and its containers may be declared forfeit by the court and destroyed or dealt with in such other manner as the court decides. In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S138  
			 Having possession of or under his control alcohol which he intends to sell by retail or supply in circumstances where that activity would be an unauthorised licensable activity. A fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale (currently 500). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S141  
			 (a) Knowingly selling or attempting to sell alcohol to a person who is drunk; or (b) knowingly allowing alcohol to be sold to such a person. A fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (currently 1,000). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S146(1)  
			 Selling alcohol to an individual aged under 18. A fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently 5,000). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S146(3)  
			 Supplying alcohol on behalf of a club to, or to the order of, a member of a club who is aged under 18; or to the order of a member of a club, to an individual who is aged under 18. A fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently 5,000). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S147(1)  
			 Knowingly allowing the sale of alcohol on relevant premises to an individual aged under 18. A fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently 5,000). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S147(3)  
			 Knowingly allowing alcohol to be supplied on relevant premises by or on behalf of a club to, or to the order of, a member of a club who is aged under 18; or to the order of a member of a club, to an individual who is aged under 18. A fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently 5,000). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S148(1)  
			 A person selling liqueur confectionery to an individual aged under 16; or supplying such confectionery, on behalf of a club to, or to the order of, a member of a club who is aged under 16; or to the order of a member of a club, to an individual who is aged under 16. A fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale (currently 500). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
			   
			  S148(3)  
			 Liqueur confectionery being supplied by a club or on its behalf to, or to the order of, a member of a club who is aged under 16; or to the order of a member of a club, to an individual who is aged under 16. A fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale (currently 500). 
			  In the case of a personal licence holder, the court may also suspend that licence for a period not exceeding six months or order the forfeiture of that licence. 
		
	
	In addition, under section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, certain licensing offences included in the Licensing Act 2003 may be dealt with by the issue of a fixed penalty notice by the police. With regard to sales of alcohol, these include:
	
		
			  Section of the 2003 Act and offence  Penalty () 
			 S141 Sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk 80 
			 S146(1) and (3) Sale of alcohol to children under 18 80 
		
	
	When commenced, section 23 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38) will also create a new offence of selling alcohol to a person under 18 from licensed premises on three or more occasions within a three month period. Liability will attach to the premises licence holder. The maximum penalty will be a fine of 10,000 and the court may, in addition, suspend the offender's premises licence for up to three months.

Illegal Alcohol Sales

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of underage drinkers in  (a) Dudley,  (b) the West Midlands and  (c) the UK.

Tony McNulty: The Home Office does not collect local or regional figures for the number of underage drinkers. Findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice survey revealed that 56 per cent. of 10 to 17 year-olds reported having had an alcoholic drink in the previous 12 months. This figure was highest among 16 to 17-year-olds (88 per cent.) and lowest among 10 to 13-year-olds (29 per cent.).

National Identity Scheme Commissioner

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the appointment process is for the proposed National Identity Scheme Commissioner; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: The process will be governed by the code of practice issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, which requires appointments to be made on merit through scrutiny of candidates by a panel including membership independent of the department making the appointment. The appointment will be made before the first ID card as defined by the Identity Cards Act issued.

Passport Interviews

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements the Government plans to make for residents of the islands of  (a) Tiree,  (b) Coll,  (c) Jura and  (d) Colonsay to attend the interview required for their first passport.

Joan Ryan: holding answer 20 November 2006
	There are no plans to establish permanent interview offices on these islands due to the low level of demandestimated at nine applicants per year in total. We plan to provide a video link based service for such remote communities, but this must still be delivered from a limited number of sites to be cost effective.
	An initial analysis has been undertaken to identify the most appropriate locations for remote interview sites throughout the UK, taking account of the cost to implement the solution and the number of first time adult applicants anticipated for each area.
	This computer modelling initially identified Tobermory as the most appropriate location for residents on Coll and Tiree (as well as the Isle of Mull). Bowmore has been initially identified as the most appropriate location for residents on Jura and Colonsay (as well as Islay). However, we anticipate that some of these applicants would choose instead to attend their interview at the Oban or other mainland office in line with visits to the mainland for business or social purposes.
	A request was sent out via the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities representative at the Scottish Executive in October to all the relevant local councils, asking for their help in confirming whether the initial locations identified were the most appropriate. We are still awaiting a reply from Argyll and Bute council with their recommendation as to the best locations for our remote interview service within their area.
	We will be taking their advice and recommendations into account, and will be working closely with them to implement this service.

Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the unfunded liability, in present value terms, of each public sector pension scheme for which his Department is responsible; and on what assumptions of  (a) discount rate and  (b) longevity the estimate is based.

Tony McNulty: The latest available information is that in the note on unfunded liabilities placed in Library by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 2 March 2006, which gives a combined figure for the police and fire service pension schemes of 85 billion.

Police

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the police precepts were for police authorities in England and Wales in each of the last five years listed in descending order.

Tony McNulty: The information is set out in the tables.
	
		
			  Police precepts (Band D) on council tax by police authority in descending order 2002-03 to 2006-07 2002-03 
			  2002-03 
			  Force  Precept (Band D) 
			 Metropolitan 130.59 
			 Northamptonshire 105.25 
			 West Mercia 104.50 
			 Dorset 103.50 
			 Warwickshire 101.78 
			 Staffordshire 100.93 
			 Cumbria 100.48 
			 Norfolk 100.35 
			 Dyfed-Powys 98.10 
			 North Wales 96.53 
			 Surrey 96.44 
			 Cleveland 96.13 
			 Humberside 95.40 
			 Leicestershire 95.21 
			 Gwent 95.17 
			 Lincolnshire 94.86 
			 Merseyside 94.76 
			 Cambridgeshire 94.59 
			 Gloucestershire 94.01 
			 Derbyshire 91.96 
			 Wiltshire 91.54 
			 South Wales 89.85 
			 North Yorkshire 88.59 
			 Nottinghamshire 85.17 
			 Avon and Somerset 83.40 
			 Suffolk 82.08 
			 Hertfordshire 81.01 
			 Bedfordshire 78.69 
			 Essex 77.67 
			 West Yorkshire 75.92 
			 Hampshire 75.15 
			 South Yorkshire 74.09 
			 Lancashire 73.86 
			 Devon and Cornwall 73.80 
			 Kent 73.64 
			 Cheshire 73.54 
			 Thames Valley 73.49 
			 Sussex 69.84 
			 Greater Manchester 68.86 
			 Durham 64.44 
			 West Midlands 61.88 
			 Northumbria 58.15 
		
	
	
		
			  2003-04 
			  Force  Precept (Band D) 
			 Metropolitan 159.13 
			 North Yorkshire 156.00 
			 Gloucestershire 142.59 
			 Surrey 135.09 
			 Cumbria 130.71 
			 Northamptonshire 130.09 
			 North Wales 126.94 
			 Staffordshire 126.50 
			 Dyfed-Powys 124.11 
			 Dorset 123.39 
			 Norfolk 121.95 
			 Cleveland 120.22 
			 West Mercia 119.80 
			 Gwent 119.11 
			 Warwickshire 117.30 
			 Cambridgeshire 113.31 
			 Humberside 113.04 
			 Derbyshire 111.77 
			 Avon and Somerset 111.64 
			 Wiltshire 109.68 
			 Suffolk 109.35 
			 Nottinghamshire 109.30 
			 Thames Valley 106.24 
			 Leicestershire 104.77 
			 Lincolnshire 104.40 
			 South Wales 103.51 
			 Devon and Cornwall 103.27 
			 Merseyside 101.54 
			 Hertfordshire 98.28 
			 Sussex 97.74 
			 Hampshire 97.29 
			 Kent 94.95 
			 South Yorkshire 94.30 
			 Bedfordshire 93.44 
			 Essex 92.97 
			 Greater Manchester 91.65 
			 West Yorkshire 88.81 
			 Cheshire 88.10 
			 Lancashire 87.57 
			 Durham 79.56 
			 West Midlands 71.16 
			 Northumbria 63.80 
		
	
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  Force  Precept (Band D) 
			 Metropolitan 184.08 
			 North Yorkshire 171.50 
			 Gloucestershire 156.71 
			 North Wales 151.57 
			 Cumbria 150.28 
			 Northamptonshire 149.43 
			 Surrey 147.06 
			 Dyfed-Powys 142.65 
			 Gwent 139.13 
			 Norfolk 138.69 
			 Staffordshire 138.44 
			 West Mercia 137.69 
			 Cleveland 136.84 
			 Dorset 135.36 
			 Humberside 129.96 
			 Cambridgeshire 129.33 
			 Warwickshire 126.55 
			 Avon and Somerset 125.09 
			 Derbyshire 122.88 
			 Wiltshire 120.63 
			 Thames Valley 120.51 
			 Nottinghamshire 120.12 
			 Leicestershire 120.11 
			 Suffolk 119.70 
			 South Wales 115.71 
			 Devon and Cornwall 113.39 
			 Hertfordshire 112.53 
			 Lincolnshire 112.23 
			 Merseyside 110.17 
			 Hampshire 108.36 
			 Bedfordshire 107.17 
			 Kent 105.66 
			 Sussex 105.12 
			 South Yorkshire 102.79 
			 West Yorkshire 102.06 
			 Lancashire 100.70 
			 Essex 99.27 
			 Greater Manchester 98.52 
			 Cheshire 97.71 
			 Durham 91.53 
			 West Midlands 80.08 
			 Northumbria 66.93 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 
			  Force  Precept (Band D) 
			 Metropolitan 196.28 
			 North Yorkshire 176.00 
			 Gloucestershire 162.90 
			 North Wales 158.94 
			 Cumbria 155.43 
			 Northamptonshire 154.41 
			 Surrey 154.26 
			 Norfolk 145.53 
			 Staffordshire 145.28 
			 Gwent 145.07 
			 Cleveland 143.68 
			 West Mercia 143.17 
			 Dyfed-Powys 143.10 
			 Dorset 142.11 
			 Humberside 135.72 
			 Cambridgeshire 135.54 
			 Warwickshire 132.52 
			 Avon and Somerset 131.34 
			 Derbyshire 129.02 
			 Wiltshire 126.63 
			 Thames Valley 126.28 
			 Leicestershire 126.04 
			 Nottinghamshire 126.01 
			 Suffolk 125.01 
			 South Wales 120.40 
			 Devon and Cornwall 119.62 
			 Lincolnshire 119.43 
			 Hertfordshire 118.09 
			 Merseyside 115.68 
			 Hampshire 113.76 
			 Bedfordshire 111.98 
			 Kent 110.88 
			 Sussex 110.25 
			 South Yorkshire 107.88 
			 Lancashire 107.72 
			 West Yorkshire 107.05 
			 Greater Manchester 105.41 
			 Essex 104.76 
			 Cheshire 102.60 
			 Durham 96.03 
			 West Midlands 83.68 
			 Northumbria 70.03 
		
	
	
		
			  2006-07 
			  Force  Precept (Band D) 
			 Metropolitan 210.82 
			 North Yorkshire 180.00 
			 Gloucestershire 170.96 
			 North Wales 166.89 
			 Surrey 163.26 
			 Cumbria 163.08 
			 Northamptonshire 162.11 
			 Norfolk 154.17 
			 Staffordshire 152.53 
			 Gwent 152.32 
			 Cleveland 150.72 
			 West Mercia 150.24 
			 Dyfed-Powys 150.21 
			 Dorset 149.13 
			 Humberside 142.47 
			 Cambridgeshire 142.29 
			 Warwickshire 138.95 
			 Avon and Somerset 137.84 
			 Derbyshire 135.15 
			 Wiltshire 132.84 
			 Thames Valley 132.58 
			 Leicestershire 132.33 
			 Nottinghamshire 132.24 
			 Suffolk 130.86 
			 South Wales 126.42 
			 Devon and Cornwall 125.53 
			 Lincolnshire 125.37 
			 Hertfordshire 123.98 
			 Merseyside 121.46 
			 Hampshire 119.43 
			 Bedfordshire 117.55 
			 Kent 116.37 
			 Sussex 115.74 
			 South Yorkshire 113.27 
			 Lancashire 113.09 
			 West Yorkshire 112.40 
			 Essex 110.97 
			 Greater Manchester 110.67 
			 Cheshire 108.49 
			 Durham 100.80 
			 West Midlands 87.55 
			 Northumbria 71.78 
			  Source: DCLG (English Police Authorities). Welsh Assembly Government (Welsh Police Authorities).

Police

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the  (a) total number of police officers and  (b) number of police officers on the streets and in neighbourhood teams in (i) Gloucestershire and (ii) England in (A) 1997 and (B) 2006.

Tony McNulty: The available data for the total number of police officers in Gloucestershire and England are given in the tables. The closest available data to cover officers on the streets and in neighbourhood teams are in terms of officers primarily employed within the function foot/car/beat patrol. These data for Gloucestershire and England are also given in the tables.
	
		
			  Police officer strength in Gloucestershire as at 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2006 (FTE)( 1) 
			   1997  2006 
			 Foot/Car/Beat Patrol(2) (4)n/a 456 
			 Total strength(3) 1,133 1,303 
			 (1) Full-Time Equivalent figures rounded to the nearest whole number. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2) Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables. (3) Overall force totals including those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The data in the function breakdown is from unpublished sources and therefore totals may not match totals found in the published data. (4) Data for 1996-97 are not available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police officer strength in England as at 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2006 (FTE)( 1) 
			   1997  2006 
			 Foot/Car/Beat Patrol(2) (4)n/a 55,291 
			 Total strength(3) 118,453 133,925 
			 (1.)Full-Time Equivalent figures rounded to the nearest whole number. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (2) Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables. (3) Overall force totals including those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The data in the function breakdown is from unpublished sources and therefore totals may not match totals found in the published data. (4) Data for 1996-97 are not available.

Prisons

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many investigations into officers' conduct were undertaken at  (a) HMP Wymott and  (b) HMP Garth in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what the average number of investigations into prison officers' conduct per prison in England and Wales was in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The average number of investigations registered into the conduct of officers, which include Senior Officer and Principal Officer, for all prisons in England and Wales is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  The average number of investigations registered into the conduct of officers 
			  As at 17 November to 16 November each year:  Wymott  Garth  Average England and Wales( 1) 
			 2003-04 13 3 12 
			 2004-05 12 4 12 
			 2005-06 9 8 10 
			 (1 )To nearest whole number

Road Safety

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were made of drivers using mobile phones while driving in the most recent period for which figures are available, broken down by police authority area.

Tony McNulty: Available information taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the year 2004 (latest available) is given in the table. As the majority of 'use of hand-held mobile phone while driving' offences are dealt with by the issue of a fixed penalty notice these are also included.
	2005 data will be available in 2007.
	
		
			  Fixed penalty notices issued and total court proceedings for the offence of use of hand-held mobile phone while driving( 1)  by police force area, England and Wales, 2004 
			  Number of offences 
			  Police force area  Fixed penalty notices issued  Total court proceedings( 2)  Total dealt with 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,902 19 1,921 
			 Bedfordshire 579 5 584 
			 Cambridgeshire 219 7 226 
			 Cheshire 2,689 2 2,691 
			 Cleveland 1,066 4 1,070 
			 Cumbria 528 24 552 
			 Derbyshire 978 17 995 
			 Devon and Cornwall 796 19 815 
			 Dorset 521 (3) 521 
			 Durham 504 1 505 
			 Essex 2,431 28 2,459 
			 Gloucestershire 632 1 633 
			 Greater Manchester 8,166 73 8,239 
			 Hampshire 2,032 18 2,050 
			 Hertfordshire 2,526 6 2,532 
			 Humberside 381 4 385 
			 Kent 1,707 (3) 1,707 
			 Lancashire 1,719 17 1,736 
			 Leicestershire 759 12 771 
			 Lincolnshire 1,529 9 1,538 
			 London, City of 137 7 144 
			 Merseyside 1,836 22 1,858 
			 Metropolitan Police 13,581 203 13,784 
			 Norfolk 887 20 907 
			 Northamptonshire 297 (3) 297 
			 Northumbria 1,271 32 1,303 
			 North Yorkshire 720 18 738 
			 Nottinghamshire 653 8 661 
			 South Yorkshire 1,978 12 1,990 
			 Staffordshire 264 11 275 
			 Suffolk 978 7 985 
			 Surrey 2,213 9 2,222 
			 Sussex 546 1 547 
			 Thames Valley 3,716 24 3,740 
			 Warwickshire 621 7 628 
			 West Mercia 2,200 17 2,217 
			 West Midlands 3,864 61 3,925 
			 West Yorkshire 2,368 11 2,379 
			 Wiltshire 700 21 721 
			 Dyfed Powys 363 13 376 
			 Gwent 517 (3) 517 
			 North Wales 999 3 1,002 
			 South Wales 1,603 16 1,619 
			 England and Wales 73,976 789 74,765 
			 (1) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). (2) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (3) Nil prosecutions.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Road Safety

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hit and run incidents led to an individual being convicted in each police force area in each of the last eight years.

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hit and run incidents have led to an individual being convicted in each of the last eight years, broken down by police force area.

Tony McNulty: Information on the number of hit and run incidents that have led to court proceedings is not collected centrally.
	Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and given in the table shows the number of offenders found guilty at all courts for the offence of failing to stop after an accident under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 170 (4) from 1997 to 2004 (latest available). The data does not distinguish between those offences which resulted in injury from those which resulted in damage or both.
	2005 data will be available in 2007.
	
		
			  Offenders found guilty at all courts for accident offences( 1)  by police force area, England and Wales, 1997-2004( 2) 
			  Number of persons 
			  Forces  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Avon and Somerset 227 188 185 158 165 86 88 94 
			 Bedfordshire 47 59 68 72 66 64 62 56 
			 Cambridgeshire 78 76 79 71 50 58 69 79 
			 Cheshire 136 158 168 181 150 175 197 181 
			 Cleveland 62 51 48 40 35 46 45 46 
			 Cumbria 100 66 77 84 84 83 98 93 
			 Derbyshire 121 94 112 109 110 109 122 118 
			 Devon and Cornwall 157 109 106 91 118 139 154 267 
			 Dorset 112 97 71 68 80 57 87 58 
			 Durham 43 48 60 37 62 58 56 52 
			 Essex 232 248 222 274 276 295 302 295 
			 Gloucestershire 62 79 64 63 78 72 84 63 
			 Greater Manchester 444 447 469 442 470 465 423 486 
			 Hampshire 188 176 182 177 188 195 200 168 
			 Hertfordshire 126 108 101 127 108 136 144 122 
			 Humberside 141 127 113 107 146 126 150 107 
			 Kent 139 97 68 84 83 103 90 138 
			 Lancashire 154 150 132 125 135 93 135 112 
			 Leicestershire 124 95 104 94 108 79 105 99 
			 Lincolnshire 64 47 59 47 67 67 73 74 
			 London, City of 11 12 21 8 11 5 7 8 
			 Merseyside 174 163 83 120 151 130 210 239 
			 Metropolitan police 613 584 558 455 418 432 383 316 
			 Norfolk 143 157 128 109 118 127 123 132 
			 Northamptonshire 95 84 69 53 24 12 55 80 
			 Northumbria 117 117 110 148 139 146 141 151 
			 North Yorkshire 137 113 117 85 111 108 101 101 
			 Nottinghamshire 151 165 124 142 130 127 142 125 
			 South Yorkshire 153 153 152 184 197 169 197 170 
			 Staffordshire 148 116 69 37 71 72 103 130 
			 Suffolk 96 79 65 53 88 64 81 87 
			 Surrey 56 65 134 91 104 75 84 57 
			 Sussex 187 153 147 127 96 86 103 84 
			 Thames Valley 167 135 142 114 170 174 144 164 
			 Warwickshire 57 57 64 61 61 48 55 67 
			 West Mercia 160 141 166 131 167 203 205 231 
			 West Midlands 447 462 434 418 385 406 361 360 
			 West Yorkshire 266 292 282 261 282 279 243 282 
			 Wiltshire 67 71 53 59 81 73 66 75 
			 Dyfed Powys 61 46 44 56 46 48 54 64 
			 Gwent 57 72 56 63 53 46 46 38 
			 North Wales 97 109 92 67 76 103 88 127 
			 South Wales 157 172 154 150 136 152 161 179 
			 Total 6,374 6,038 5,752 5,443 5,694 5,591 5,837 5,975 
			 (1) Aiding, abetting, causing or permitting accident offences under the RTA88 s. 170(4). (2) These data are on the principal offence basis.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is under way to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Road Safety

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress being made by his Department on the approval of roadside drug testing equipment.

Vernon Coaker: International research has confirmed our belief that no existing device is suitable to be type approved for the conduct of roadside drug tests under the Road Traffic Act. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch and Forensic Science Service are preparing a detailed specification for a device that would be suitable for type approval and this should issue shortly. It will then be for manufacturers to prepare a device in accordance with this specification and submit it for the rigorous testing that forms part of the type approval process.

Road Safety

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic offences were lost under the six-month rule in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Terrorist Detainees

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many terrorist suspects have been detained for 28 days; and how many of these have subsequently been  (a) charged and  (b) released.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 21 November 2006
	The maximum period of detention pre-charge was extended to 28 days with effect from 25 July 2006. Statistics compiled from police records show that six people have been held for 27-28 days. Of these six individuals, three were charged and three were released.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times children have been released from Ashfield Young Offender Institution without their property in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: HMP and YOI Ashfield has no record of any young person being released from custody (into the community) without their property over the last three years. There have been occasions, however, where young people have claimed that items have been lost from either their stored property, or in possession property. In such cases a claim will be considered from the young person and compensation will be paid if the prison is found to be at fault.

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what injuries were incurred by boys held in Huntercombe Young Offenders Institution during control and restraint in each month in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data on injuries incurred by boys held in Huntercombe during any incident in which force was used up to and including full control and restraint for the period January 2005 to October 2006 is shown in the following table. The forms used to record any incidents of use of force do not differentiate between control and restraint and other use of force. There were a total of 676 incidents; 134 of which (19.8 per cent.) resulted in some injury to the young person involved. A number of these injuries will have been sustained in incidents between young persons which lead to control and restraint being used but it has not been possible to extract all of these.
	
		
			  Data on injuries incurred by boys held in Huntercombe prison 
			Injuries received 
			  Month  Number of occurrences when force was used for any reason  Number  Nature 
			 January 2005 33 4 Cut to finger, pulled muscle 
			Sore right elbow 
			Swollen knuckle 
			Scratch to chest 
			 
			 February 2005 25 3 Abrasion to right arm 
			Painful right wrist 
			Mark to neck and damaged cuticle 
			 
			 March 2005 32 10 Sore thumb 
			Graze to right shoulder 
			Cut to lower lip, bruising to eyebrow 
			Swelling to left side of forehead and back of head 
			Swollen wrist, suspected fracture but none 
			Swelling and small cut to bottom lip 
			Graze to left side of head 
			Pain to elbow, sore knuckle to left hand 
			Scratch to back 
			Graze to eyebrow 
			 
			 April 2005 29 5 Sore knuckle 
			Sore right wrist 
			Cut and bump to centre of forehead 
			Swollen left wrist 
			Swelling to left side 
			 
			 May 2005 20 8 Pain in chest 
			Nose pain 
			Sore lip 
			Swollen knuckle and small scratch to right cheek 
			Graze left side of forehead and pain in right wrist 
			Pain and swelling to wrist 
			Pain right forearm 
			Sore right arm 
			 
			 June 2005 23 1 Left wrist swollen 
			 
			 July 2005 24 4 Small wound to right cheek and bit lip 
			Painful left wrist 
			Bit tongue 
			Painful shoulder/ribcage 
			 
			 August 2005 18 1 Red wrist 
			 
			 September 2005 24 5 Cut lip 
			Minor graze to right wrist 
			Painful right wrist 
			Painful right arm 
			Reddening of elbows 
			 
			 October 2005 32 7 Cut to lip 
			Redness to nose and forehead 
			Painful left wrist 
			Right index finger hurt 
			Painful right wrist 
			Nosebleed 
			Small bruise to jaw, graze to neck and scratch to back 
			 
			 November 2005 42 3 Sore back 
			Nosebleed 
			Redness to wrists 
			 
			 December 2005 42 6 Red marks to back 
			Small abrasion 
			Painful hands and wrists 
			Scratches to neck 
			Red marks to wrists 
			Painful arm 
			 
			 January 2006(1) 51 13 Pain in left wrist 
			Small bump to back 
			Pain in right wrist 
			Right wrist bruised 
			Pain to left wrist 
			Red mark on forehead 
			Red marks right wrist 
			Bump to head 
			Carpet burn, bruise and grazes 
			Bruised right knee 
			Painful right wrist 
			Left wrist slightly swollen 
			Pain in left thumb 
			 
			 February 2006 14 3 Pain and slight redness left hand 
			Redness to both wrists, sore nose 
			Red marks around wrists 
			 
			 March 2006 36 11 Abrasions to left shoulder, knees and right arm 
			Superficial graze to knee 
			Small graze to right hand 
			Sore wrists 
			Bruising to temple, graze left leg, bruising to upper arms and right forearm 
			Pain and slight swelling to left forearm 
			Small scratch to left side of neck 
			Small injury to right thumb 
			Painful right wrist 
			Pain in right wrist 
			Soreness and bump above top lip 
			 
			 April 2006 39 11 Graze to left elbow 
			Cut to fingers 
			Sore wrist 
			Stiff neck 
			Right arm painful 
			Redness to wrists 
			Left hand sore 
			Sore right wrist 
			Graze to nose and ear 
			Little finger swollen 
			Sore wrists 
			 
			 May 2006 46 7 Small incision to lip, chipped tooth, swelling to forehead 
			Painful left wrist 
			Marks to wrists 
			Painful wrists 
			Bleeding mole on forehead 
			Superficial cut to neck 
			Small bump to forehead 
			 
			 June 2006 34 10 Bang to back of head 
			Bruise to wrist and elbow 
			Sore wrist 
			Scratch on hands 
			Right hand red and slightly swollen 
			Right wrist pain and slightly swollen 
			Small cut behind right ear 
			Left wrist swollen and bruised 
			Bruising to wrists 
			Sore arm 
			 
			 July 2006 33 5 Marks on wrists 
			Fractured wrist 
			Painful wrists 
			Painful left wrist 
			Nosebleed 
			 
			 August 2006 36 7 Pain to wrists 
			Small bruise to forehead 
			Left wrist painful 
			Graze to forehead, cut lip, painful wrist 
			Slight pain to wrist 
			Small cut to right finger 
			Small bump and graze to forehead 
			 
			 September 2006 23 2 Painful left wrist 
			Painful wrists, slight swelling to thumb 
			 
			 October 2006 20 8 Red marks on wrists and small abrasion on face 
			Sore elbow 
			Sore left wrist 
			Sore wrist and bump to head 
			Very small bruise left shoulder 
			Painful left hand 
			Scratches 
			Painful right wrist 
			 Total 676 134(2)  
			 (1) Major incident outside the mosqueapproximately 30 boys attacking each other and staff (2) 19.8 per cent. of use of force incidents resulted in some injury

Young Offenders

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many boys were subjected to a strip search in Huntercombe Young Offender Institution in each month in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006; and how many times control and restraint procedures were used during such searches in each month.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following tables give figures for all full searches and searches under control and restraint for January 2005 to October 2006:
	
		
			  Full searches and searches under control and restraint for January 2005 to October 2006 
			   2005 
			  Full searches  January   February   March   April  May  June 
			 Reception 106 81 63 70 93 74 
			 Discharge 102 75 64 72 97 74 
			 Room Search 120 120 120 120 120 120 
			 Visits 40 40 40 40 40 40 
			 Searches under control and restraint 0 0 3 0 4 1 
			 Total Full Searches 368 316 290 302 354 309 
		
	
	
		
			  Full searches  July  August  September   October  November   December 
			 Reception 114 79 83 85 97 53 
			 Discharge 114 72 82 83 108 14 
			 Room Search 120 120 120 120 120 120 
			 Visits 40 40 40 40 40 40 
			 Searches under control and restraint 1 2 1 1 2 7 
			 Total Full Searches 389 313 326 329 367 234 
		
	
	
		
			   2006 
			  Full Searches  January  February   March  April  May 
			 Receptions 53 103 79 110 83 
			 Discharges 39 129 63 112 67 
			 Room Searches 120 120 120 120 60 
			 Visits 40 40 40 40 40 
			 Searches under control and restraint 4 0 1 1 1 
			 Total Full Searches 256 392 303 383 251 
		
	
	
		
			  Full Searches  June  July  August  September  October 
			 Receptions 72 85 67 85 121 
			 Discharges 68 85 66 83 114 
			 Room Searches 60 60 60 60 60 
			 Visits 40 40 40 40 40 
			 Searches under control and restraint 2 0 2 0 0 
			 Total Full Searches 242 270 235 268 335

Boarding Schools

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places were available in state boarding schools in England in each year since 1976.

Jim Knight: The years for which data is immediately available are in the table. A full response will be placed in the Library as soon as it is collated.
	
		
			   Headcount  Number of boarders 
			 1996 25,255 3,546 
			 1997 25,569 3,546 
			 1998 25,998 3,912 
			 1999 26,979 3,949 
			 2000 27,764 3,987 
			 2001 28,526 4,005 
			 2002 29,134 3,500 
			 2003 29,954 3,383 
			 2004 30,660 3,585 
			 2005 31,280 3,950 
			 2006 31,703 4,104 
			  Source: Annual schools census. Does not include two state boarding schools which are sixth form colleges as annual school census data are not available.

Child Care

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of families living in poverty in each UK constituency have  (a) free and  (b) subsidised childcare.

Beverley Hughes: I am replying with information on the position in England only. The position in other parts of the United Kingdom is a matter for the respective devolved administrations.
	All three and four-year-olds in England are entitled to 12.5 hours free early education provision over38 weeks. Through the 10-year childcare strategy, we have committed to extending the universal minimum free early education entitlement to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks by 2010.
	As part of the spending review 2004, the Chancellor announced a small scale pilot programme to provide 12,000 disadvantaged two-year-olds (including those from low income families) with access to free early education and childcare. The pilots commenced in April 2006 and run until 2008. They will enable us to look closely at the potential benefits of such provision, focusing in particular on improvements in child outcomes and closing early achievement gaps. The pilots will also explore the effectiveness of different strategies for engaging the most disadvantaged groups.
	This information is not available.

Class Sizes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average class size is for  (a) primary and  (b) secondary classes.

Jim Knight: The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools: average class sizes( 1,2 ) as at January 2006, England 
			   Average class size 
			 Primary 26.3 
			 Secondary 21.5 
			 (1) Classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census in January. (2) Classes taught by one teacher.  Source:  Schools' Census.

Education Funding

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial assistance will be offered to local education authorities where a significant proportion of children do not speak English as their first language in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The ethnic minority achievement grant (EMAG) is a ring-fenced grant which provides a contribution towards additional support for underachieving ethnic minority pupils and support for those pupils for whom English is an additional language. The total grant for 2007-08 is 179 million. The dedicated schools grant (DSG) gives local authorities allocations for multi-year periods: the allocations for 2007-08 will depend on pupil numbers in schools in January 2007 and the guaranteed unit of funding set in December 2005, which is set out as follows, is influenced by the number of children for whom English is an additional language in the authority.
	The formula used to calculate Schools Formula Spending Share for 2005-06 and previous years took account of the extra spending needed by those authorities with populations of children for whom English is an additional language, and from low performing ethnic minority groups. Approximately 435 million of the 24.6 billion Schools FSS for 2005-06 was distributed on the basis of numbers of children in these two categories. Since the formula for dedicated schools grant starts from local authorities' spending on schools for 2005-06, that will also take account of the extra spending needed by authorities with such children.
	When we have the results of the spending review in summer 2007, we will set indicative allocations for a three-year period for 2008-09 to 2010-11, which will be finalised when we have the pupil numbers for each year. We will be consulting in spring 2007as part of the new school funding arrangements from 2008-09on new arrangements for distributing DSG to local authorities.

Education Funding

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Government funding per head has been provided to local education authorities for children in  (a) Shropshire,  (b) Herefordshire,  (c) Staffordshire,  (d) Warwickshire and  (e) Gloucestershire in 2006-07.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the dedicated schools grant guaranteed unit of funding:
	
		
			  2006-07 DSG guaranteed unit of funding 
			
			 Gloucestershire 3,358.48 
			 Herefordshire 3,296.93 
			 Shropshire 3,338.62 
			 Staffordshire 3,381.34 
			 Warwickshire 3,403.98 
			  Notes: 1. The majority of funding for schools is delivered through the dedicated schools grant (DSG) which was introduced in April 2006. The DSG offers a guaranteed amount per pupil, and these figures are given in the table above. 2. Funding through revenue grants has not been included in the figures.

Educational Attainment

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the national average percentage of candidates achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics was in the last 12 months, broken down by ethnic origin of candidates.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in 2005 achieving five plus A* to C at GCSE and equivalent including English and mathematics by ethnicity.
	
		
			  Ethnic group  Eligible pupils  5+ A*-C inc. E and M 
			 White 486,887 43.0 
			 White British 473,409 42.9 
			 Irish 2,243 50.7 
			 Traveller of Irish Heritage 111 20.7 
			 Gypsy/Roma 286 9.1 
			 Any other White background 10,838 46.2 
			 Mixed 12,085 41.9 
			 White and Black Caribbean 4,423 30.5 
			 White and Black African 1,156 40.8 
			 White and Asian 2,266 56.6 
			 Any other mixed background 4,240 46.1 
			 Asian 35,242 44.0 
			 Indian 13,127 57.4 
			 Pakistani 13,257 32.5 
			 Bangladeshi 5,225 34.5 
			 Any other Asian background 3,633 50.8 
			 Black 20,391 30.7 
			 Black Caribbean 8,590 27.1 
			 Black African 9,363 35.0 
			 Any other Black background 2,438 27.5 
			 Chinese 2,316 68.8 
			 Any other ethnic group 4,928 40.3 
			 Unclassified(1) 22,410 38.2 
			 All pupils 584,259 42.5 
			 (1) Includes information refused or not obtained. 
		
	
	More detailed breakdowns of 2005 figures are available in SFR 09/2006 at
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000640/index.shtml.
	Provisional 2006 figures will be available on23 November 2006 in SFR 46/2006 which can befound at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000693/index.shtml.

Educational Attainment

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in England gained  (a) nine,  (b) 10,  (c) 11,  (d) 12,  (e) 13 and  (f) 14 GCSEs in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of 15-year-old pupils(1) in England who obtained the following numbers of GCSEs and equivalents(2) at grades A*-G.
	
		
			  GCSEs or equivalent( 2) 
			   9 or more  10 or more  11 or more  12 or more  13 or more  14 or more 
			 1997 365,080 140,481 19,733 2,228 351 67 
			 1998 366,094 156,066 23,498 2,940 698 153 
			 1999 383,377 171,423 26,689 3,422 977 261 
			 2000 391,631 181,248 29,617 4,223 1,059 297 
			 2001 408,860 200,451 35,979 5,658 1,233 487 
			 2002 415,821 219,811 51,921 14,216 5,428 1,858 
			 2003 425,122 251,027 85,885 33,671 14,343 4,777 
			 2004 452,538 295,234 116,156 50,652 22,620 8,090 
			 2005 451,558 310,538 139,883 66,070 31,424 12,637 
			 2006(3) 465,668 332,285 164,833 83,004 40,797 17,832 
			 (1) Pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August. (2) 1997 to 2003 include GCSEs/GNVQs. 2004 onwards include GCSEs and other equivalences approved pre-16. (3) Data for 2006 is provisional. Data for all other years is final.

Educational Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on  (a) primary education and  (b) nursery education in each year since 1990-91 in 2004-05 prices; what the estimated expenditure is for 2006-07 in 2004-05 prices; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The available information is contained within the following table.
	
		
			  Education expenditure( 1,2)  by central and local government( 3)  for under 5's and within primary schools in real terms( 4 ) in England 1990-91 to 2005-06 ( million), excluding Ofsted expenditure 
			   Schools( 5 ) current( 6) 
			   Under fives( 7)  Primary 
			 1990-91 1,473 6,759 
			 1991-92 1,620 7,160 
			 1992-93 1,749 7,510 
			 1993-94 1,843 7,593 
			 1994-95 1,944 7,865 
			 1995-96 1,965 7,864 
			 1996-97 2,005 7,890 
			 1997-98 2,114 7,897 
			 1998-99 2,157 8,011 
			
			 1999-2000 2,399 8,322 
			 2000-01 2,683 9,020 
			 2001-02 3,232 9,741 
			
			 2002-03 3,291 10,179 
			 2003-04 3,657 10,774 
			 2004-05 3,920 (8)10,901 
			 2005-06 4,010 (9)11,209 
			 (1) Figures within departmental expenditure limits (DEL). Excludes DfES administration costs and expenditure on areas other than education, for instance on children and families and on skills. Figures for 1998-99 onwards are resource-based. Central Government figures for 1995-96 to 1997-98 are cash-based. (2) Differences between the totals above and the figures for primary education spending in HM Treasury's Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) Report are the result of (a) data coverage: the exclusion of Annual Managed Expenditure (AME) items in the above table, (b) definitional differences: Departmental administration costs and Ofsted spending on education are both classified as education are both classified as education spending under UN Classification of Functions Government (COFOG) international definitionsthe above table excludes these, (c) reclassifications made since Budget 2006 of Connexions spending to social protection and Adult Education spend to training in line with UN COFOG definitions. The next scheduled HMT National Statistics release will update education spending to take account of these reclassifications, (d) further minor data coverage and timing differences. (3) The recurrent local authority figures in this table are drawn from the Local Government Expenditure table of the Departmental Annual Report (table 8.3 of the 2006 DAR); the footnotes to that table set out the underlying data sources. The blank rows denote the changes from the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions education Revenue Outturn return (the 'RO1') to Section 52 Outturn Statements 1999-2000 and arising from the review of the Section 52 categories in 2002-03 following the introduction of Consistent Financial Reporting to schools. (4) Sources of the figures in the table are as follows: 1997-98 to 2005-06 from the Education Select Committee table, 1995-96 to 1996-97 from the November 2005 Education Bulletin, 1993-94 to 1994-95 from the November 2004 Bulletin, 1989-90 to 1992-93 from the Departmental Reports. (5) All figures have been converted to 2005-06 price levels using27 September 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) deflators. The base year of these figures is 2005-06, not 2004-05, so the figures are in 2005-06 prices. (6) Includes expenditure on county, voluntary aided, special agreement, grant-maintained schools, city technology colleges and other specialist schools. Central Government funding on grant-maintained schools has been apportioned to under-fives, primary and secondary sectors using pupil numbers. (7) Figures from 2003-04 onwards reflect the transfer of responsibility from the Department to LEAs of costs relating to teachers pensions. (8) Provisional outturn. (9) Estimated outturn.  Note: As we can only project forecasts figures one year on from the outturn statements, we only have figures available for up to 2005-06.

Five-Year Strategy for Children and Learners

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what budget has been allocated to the Learning and Skills Council for the purpose of implementing paragraphs 36 to 42 of the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners (Cm 6272).

Jim Knight: The 16-19 Capital Fund administered by the Learning and Skills Council supports the capacity building measures set out in the Five Year Strategy and 14-19 Education and Skills Implementation Plan. These include the expansion of high performing secondary schools under 'presumption' arrangements; 16-19 competitions; and from 2007, FE collegesunder 'presumption' arrangements. In 2006-07 up to 120 million is available, and up to 180 million in 2007-08.

Head Teachers

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many head teacher positions are vacant in secondary schools; and what the average length of vacancy of such a position was in 2006-07.

Jim Knight: In January 2006, the latest information available, there were 30 vacant head teacher posts in local authority maintained secondary schools, a rate of 0.9 per cent.
	Information on the average length of time that head teacher vacancies remain unfilled is not collected centrally.
	Under the Department for Education and Skills', (DfES), standard definition, vacancies are those advertised for full-time permanent appointments, or appointments of at least one term's duration, and include those being filled by a teacher on a temporary contract of less than one terms' duration.
	The provided information is from the DfES annual survey of teachers in service and teacher vacancies, 618g.

Maintained Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools he estimates wish to opt out of local authority control.

Jim Knight: It is not possible for maintained schools to opt-out of local authority control. I do not, therefore, hold information about how many schools might wish to do so.

New Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many new schools commissioned by local authorities have been built since 2001; and how many applications he received from local authorities to build new community schools in that period.

Jim Knight: The Department relies on local authorities to determine schools' provision, including the expansion of existing schools or the provision of new ones, and does not maintain central records of new community schools that have been built.
	Proposals by local authorities to establish new community schools are decided locally by the local authority, School Organisation Committee or schools adjudicator and the Secretary of State plays no part in the process. Since 2001 proposals for 567 community schools have been published of which 529 have been approved, eight rejected and 30 are awaiting decision. These figures include new schools established as a result of a local reorganisation or amalgamation of schools, where the new schools will be established in the premises of closing schools.
	Since September 2006 a local authority has been required to seek consent from the Secretary of State if they wish to establish a secondary school without running a competition. If consent is given the local authority would have to publish statutory proposals and these would be decided under local decision-making arrangements. No applications for consent have been received to publish proposals for a community secondary school.

New Teachers

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills now many new teachers have been employed since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of new teachers entering service is not available at local authority level.
	The following table provides the number of newly qualified entrants to maintained sector service in England in each year from 1997-98 to 2004-05, the latest information available. The table does not include teachers whose entry to the English maintained sector was delayed after attaining qualified teacher status.
	
		
			  Newly qualified entrants( 1)  to the maintained sector in England, 1997-98 to 2004-05 
			   Full-time  Part-time( 2)  Total 
			 1997-98 18,010 890 18,900 
			 1998-99 16,820 840 17,660 
			 1999-2000 17,630 810 18,440 
			 2000-01 16,780 600 17,380 
			 2001-02 18,330 570 18,910 
			 2002-03 20,790 760 21,550 
			 2003-04(3) 22,250 990 23,240 
			 2004-05(3,4) 21,950 1,000 22,950 
			 Total 152,560 6,470 159,030 
			 (1) Teacher qualified in the previous calendar year. (2) 10-20 per cent. of part-time teachers may not be included in the data. (3) Provisional. (4) Figures for 2004-05 may be underestimated due to the late receipt of data.  Source: Database of Teacher Records.

North Devon College

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what factors underlay the decision of the Learning and Skills Council to refuse additional funding to North Devon College, on behalf of the Prince's Trust Team Programme in Torridge, following over-recruitment for the Programme.

Bill Rammell: I can confirm the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has agreed to allocate an additional 75,000 to North Devon College specifically for the funding of Prince's Trust programme in 2006/07 at Torridge Training.
	Generally additional funding is not available in-year for further education colleges as funding is based on plans agreed with the LSC that they guarantee to fund. The guarantee that college plans will be fully funded has been widely welcomed in terms of stability and assured levels of funding. However, it does mean colleges recruiting above agreed plans cannot expect to receive additional funding above the level agreed with the LSC. Although there is an expectation that higher volumes in priority areas should be reflected in the following year.

School Finance

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the Financial Management Standards in Schools initiative will apply to smaller schools without bursars; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We will be announcing a timetable for primary, middle and special schools to meet the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) later this term. We are currently consulting with local authority finance and school improvement staff as part of the Supporting Schools Financial Management (SSFM) programme, to look at how best the FMSiS can be applied to primary schools, The general consensus however, is that the standard will apply, but that the evidence that is required from primary schools may need to be more flexible.
	Section 2.2 of the Financial Management Standard provides for the member of staff with lead responsibility for the day to day financial management of the school to be involved in decisions made by the School Leadership Team (SLT), since every decision will have a financial consequence. This role could be fulfilled by a bursar, business manager, finance officer, deputy head, etc. Ideally, they should be a member of the SLT, but if not, they should certainly be involved in meetings or decisions of the SLT and evidence should be provided that this is the case.
	For some smaller schools it may be more appropriate for financial support to be bought in from the LA or a third-party on a part-time basis, perhaps as part of a shared bursar scheme. In these cases we seek assurance that the quality of information provided by this service meets the standard and that decisions taken by the SLT are on the basis of informed financial management information.

Science and Maths Teaching

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to improve the teaching of science and mathematics in schools to engage young people more effectively.

Jim Knight: The Government are engaging young people more effectively in science and mathematics by improving the quality of teaching and learning through a number of different ways. These include:
	Improving the quality of teaching by ensuring all science and mathematics teachers have access to good quality continuing professional development through the network of Science Learning Centres and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. Support and guidance is also available through the National Strategies.
	Reviewing the Key Stage 3 science and mathematics curricula to ensure that they offer teachers more flexibility to meet pupils' individual learning needs. The Key Stage 4 science curriculum has already been revised to make it more manageable and to focus on the key conceptual underpinnings of science, as well as its excitement and relevance.
	Developing innovative Key Stage 3 mathematics lesson materials through a 4 million partnership with the Bowland Trust that will draw on the interests of pupils while bringing out mathematical ways of thinking.
	Piloting 250 after-school science and engineering clubs, offering an engaging and stretching programme of activities to Key Stage 3 pupils with an interest and potential in science.
	Restructuring mathematics GCSE to place functional skills at its heart so that pupils will not be able to get a grade C or better without passing a functional skills unit.

Special Schools

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) independent and  (b) maintained special schools have opened in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Jim Knight: The numbers of special schools opened, by local authority, from 1997 to 2006 are as follows:
	
		
			  (a) Independent special schools 
			  Local authority  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Grand total 
			 Barking and Dagenham  1 1 
			 Barnsley   1 1   1 
			 Bedfordshire 11  2 
			 Birmingham1 1  2 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1 1 2 
			 Blackpool1 2  3 
			 Bradford 1  1 
			 Brighton and Hove 1  1 
			 Bristol City of 1 1 2 
			 Bromley 1  1 
			 Buckinghamshire  1 1  1  14 
			 Bury  1 1 
			 Calderdale   1   11 3 
			 Cambridgeshire1  1 1   3 6 
			 Camden   11 
			 Cheshire   1  1 13 6 
			 Cornwall  1   1  2 
			 Croydon  1 1 11 1 2 7 
			 Cumbria  1  1 1 1  1   5 
			 Derby 1  1 
			 Derbyshire1  2 3 
			 Devon  2 1   2 5 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire1 1  2 
			 East Sussex 12 1 1 1  1 7 
			 Enfield   11 
			 Essex   11 
			 Gloucestershire  2 2 
			 Hackney 1  1 
			 Halton  2 2 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham  1 1 
			 Hampshire  1 1 
			 Haringey  1 1 
			 Herefordshire 111  3 
			 Hertfordshire 1  1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1  1 
			 Kent 1  3 1 4 1 1 2 2 9 24 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of 1 1 2 
			 Kirklees  1 1 
			 Lambeth 1  1 
			 Lancashire 1 1  1 1   2 5 3 14 
			 Leicester 1  1 
			 Leicestershire   1  1 1 3 
			 Lincolnshire 2  2 
			 Liverpool1 1  2 
			 Manchester  1   1  1  1  4 
			 Medway  1 1 
			 Merton   11 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne  1 1 
			 Norfolk 2 2 4 
			 North Lincolnshire  1 1 
			 North Tyneside 1  1 
			 North Yorkshire1  1 2 
			 Northamptonshire   1 1   2 
			 Northumberland  1 1 
			 Nottingham1   1 
			 Nottinghamshire   1   6 7 
			 Oldham  1 1 
			 Oxfordshire 1  1 
			 Peterborough1   1 
			 Plymouth 1  1 
			 Poole  1 1 
			 Rochdale1 6 15 22 
			 Rutland 1  1 
			 Salford   1 1   2 
			 Sefton  1  1   2 
			 Shropshire   1 1 1 1   2 5 11 
			 Somerset   2  3   1 3 3 12 
			 Southampton  12 3 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1 1 2 
			 Southwark 1  1 
			 St. Helens1   1 
			 Staffordshire  1   1  2 
			 Stockport  1 1 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1  1 
			 Suffolk 3  3 
			 Surrey   1 2   3 
			 Sutton  2 13 
			 Tameside 1  1 
			 Telford and Wrekin 1  12 
			 Waltham Forest   11 
			 Wandsworth   11 
			 Warrington   1   2 3 
			 Warwickshire1   1 
			 West Berkshire   11 
			 West Sussex1   2  2 2 7 
			 Westminster  1 1 
			 Wiltshire 1   1 1  3 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead  1 1 
			 Grand total 8 8 15 12 24 19 19 20 51 81 257 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Maintained special schools 
			  Local authority  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Grand total 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1  1 
			 Barnsley 1  1 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1 1 2 
			 Bexley 1  1 
			 Blackburn with Darwen1   12 
			 Bournemouth 1  1 
			 Brighton and Hove  1 1 
			 Bristol City of1 1  2 
			 Bromley   11 
			 Cambridgeshire   1   2 3 
			 Cheshire  2 2 
			 Coventry  2 2 
			 Derbyshire 3  3 
			 Devon  1 1 
			 Durham  1 1  2  4 
			 Essex   112 
			 Gateshead 31  4 
			 Gloucestershire  2   1  3 
			 Greenwich 3  3 
			 Hampshire  11 2 
			 Harrow 2  2 
			 Herefordshire1   1 
			 Islington  1 1 
			 Kent   1 11 1  4 
			 Kingston upon Hull City of2   2 
			 Kirklees  1 1 
			 Lambeth 2  2 
			 Lancashire 115 2 9 
			 Leeds 2  2 
			 Leicester 1 1 2 
			 Leicestershire1  1 2 
			 Lincolnshire   3   1 4 
			 Liverpool  1  4  1 6 
			 Manchester1 1 1 3 
			 Medway   11 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne   4   1 5 
			 North Tyneside 1 1 2 
			 Northamptonshire 1 2 3 
			 Northumberland1   1 
			 Oldham 21  3 
			 Peterborough 1   1   2 
			 Portsmouth  1 1 
			 Redbridge 1  1 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1  1 
			 Salford 1  1 
			 Sandwell3   3 
			 Sheffield 2  2 
			 Slough  1 1 
			 Somerset  1 1 
			 South Gloucestershire   11 
			 South Tyneside1   1 
			 St. Helens 1  1 
			 Staffordshire 1  1 
			 Stockport   1 1   2 
			 Sunderland   11 
			 Telford and Wrekin1   1 
			 Thurrock1   1 
			 Torbay   11 
			 Tower Hamlets 1  1 
			 Trafford 1  1   1 3 
			 Wakefield 11 2   1  5 
			 Wandsworth  1 1 
			 Warwickshire1 2 1 4 
			 Wigan6   1   3 10 
			 Wirral 1  1 
			 Wolverhampton   11 
			 Worcestershire  1 1 
			 York2   2 
			 Grand total 14 10 11 18 18 7 11 13 24 23 149 
			  Source: DfES 
		
	
	The figures include schools that opened as a result of the amalgamation or merger of two or more schools; schools that have closed but re-opened as voluntary schools with a religious character; and schools that have opened in local authorities that have moved from a three-tier to a two-tier system.
	Independent special schools are comprised of independent special schools and non-maintained special schools (those which, while independent are solely used by local authorities and are therefore not the purview of the general public).

Teacher Training

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what training qualified teachers from overseas must complete in order to teach in schools in England.

Jim Knight: Teachers who are nationals of the European Economic Area countries and are trained and qualified in those countries are entitled under a European Union directive to be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) without further training.
	Other overseas trained teachers are allowed to work as teachers in maintained schools and non maintained special schools in England (other than pupil referral units) for a period of up to four years if they have successfully completed a programme of professional training for teachers in any country outside the UK which is recognised by the competent authority in that country.
	In order to continue teaching beyond four years, the teacher will need to obtain QTS either through an employment-based route (such as the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme) or a conventional Initial Teacher Training Programme.

Cancer/Heart Disease (Mortality Rates)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's press release of 27 September, entitled Mortality Rates from Cancer and Heart Disease Improve ref. 2006/0317, how her Department reached the figures of  (a) 50,000 lives saved from the reduction in cancer mortality rates since 1996 and  (b) 150,000 lives saved from the reduction in cardiovascular disease mortality rate since 1996; and if she will estimate how many lives were saved from the reduction in (i) cancer and (ii) cardiovascular disease mortality rates between (A) 1973 to 1978 and (B) 1978 to 1996.

Rosie Winterton: Lives saved is an assessment of the cumulative effect of year-on-year reductions to the numbers of deaths in a specific age group and from a specific cause of death. In this case, it relates to deaths from circulatory disease and cancer at ages under 75.
	It is calculated by subtracting from the number of deaths that occurred in the first year of the period, the number of deaths registered in each subsequent year, and then totalling the differences.
	An estimate of the lives saved over the other time periods requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Lives saved at ages under 75 
			   Persons aged under 75 
			  Lives saved  Circulatory disease (100-199)  Neoplasms (C00-C97) 
			 1973-78 (6 years) 17,000 0 
			 1978-1996 (19 years) 535,000 65,000 
			  Note:  Due to the different length of the time periods involved, the figures are not comparable with each other, or with the estimates for the period 1996 to 2005.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is given by her Department to primary care trusts regarding the administration of patient charges for NHS dental services.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance for primary care trusts on the administration of patient charges was included in one of a series of factsheets (factsheet 4pct allocations for primary care dentistry 2006-07 and patient charge income) which were issued on 8 December 2005 and placed on both the Department's and the national health service primary care contracting's websites, and copies have been placed in the Library.

Midwives

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of midwives needed throughout the NHS; how many are employed in the NHS in  (a) England and  (b) Gloucestershire; what steps she (i) is taking, (ii) plans to take and (iii) has considered to reduce the shortage of midwives; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Vacancy rates confirm that there is not a national shortage of midwives. The three-month vacancy rate for England has fallen from 3.3 per cent. in 2000 to 1.0 per cent. in 2006. The three-month vacancy rate in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority was 0.6 per cent. in March 2006.
	We met the target for 2,000 more midwives by 2005 ahead of schedule, and expect further increases in the work force as a result of increased training and return to practise. The 2005 work force census confirmed that there are more than 2,400 midwives employed in the national health service than there were in 2000.
	Local NHS organisations are responsible for developing maternity services in response to the needs of their local population, and for ensuring that they have sufficient staff, with the right skills, to offer appropriate choices.
	The number of midwives employed in the NHS in England and Gloucestershire is shown in the table.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified midwives in England and each specified organisation as at 30 September 2005 
			   Reference  Number 
			 England  24,808 
			  Of which:   
			 Total specified organisations  266 
			 Cheltenham and Tewkesbury PCT 5KW 1 
			 Cotswold and Vale PCT 5KY 43 
			 Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust RTE 222 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census

NHS Trusts

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with the NHS Appointments Commission on increasing the number of non-executive directors of NHS trusts who come from areas of health deprivation; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the Appointment Commission on this subject. However, the Appointments Commission is committed to ensuring that those appointed as non-executives are drawn from across the geographical areas served by national health service trusts.

Shropshire PCT

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which  (a) posts and  (b) services in Shropshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) are under review as a result of the requirement on the PCT to find savings in the 2006-07 financial year;
	(2)  when she expects Shropshire Primary Care Trust to announce what measures it plans to take in order to meet its revised budget.

Caroline Flint: Formal consultation on stage 1 of the primary care trust's (PCT) strategic service plan closed on 29 September 2006. The NHS West Midlands reports that the consultation responses were considered by the PCT board at its meeting on 24 October 2006 and the following proposals were supported:
	the implementation of the existing plan to transfer the Bishops Castle Community Hospital site to the not-for-profit organization, Coverage Care, in 2007-08. This is subject to resolution of the financial impairment issue relating to the building;
	the closure of Whitcliffe mental health ward, at Ludlow Hospital;
	the deferral of the proposals for general inpatient services on Clee Ward at Ludlow Hospital until June 2007 to enable the PCT to work with South Shropshire district council and others to evaluate their alternative vision for the community hospital;
	the reorganisation of district nursing and health visiting services; and
	the closure of six beds at Whitchurch Hospital.
	Consultation is under way with staff on Whitcliffe Ward, Ludlow, and it is hoped that staff will be found suitable alternative employment.
	Shropshire County PCT and Telford and Wrekin PCT are currently undertaking the second phase of the formal consultation on the strategic service plan which is due to close on 27 November 2006. This relates to the configuration of services between the two acute hospitals, the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital. This will include children's services and urology services. We would expect announcements to be made once the PCTs have considered the responses received following the consultation exercise.

Waiting Times

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets her Department has for waiting times for cataract operations; and what the waiting times were for such operations in each strategic health authority region in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 November 2006
	The maximum waiting time standard since December 2005 has been 13 weeks for first out-patient appointment and six months for in-patient treatment from decision to admit. Referrals that result in cataract operations are covered by the 18 week target for delivery in December 2008.
	Waiting time data at sub-specialty level is not available centrally. The hospital episode statistics data, unadjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension, gives an approximate measure at sub-specialty level including cataracts. Data for each of the five years up to 2004-05the latest for which HES data is availablehas been placed in the Library.

Child Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of total real spending on  (a) child benefit,  (b) child tax credit and  (c) child trust funds for each year since 1990-91 using 2004-05 prices; what estimate he has made of likely spending in 2006-07 in 2004-05 prices; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Total real spending of  (a) child benefit,  (b) child tax credit and  (c) child trust fund, using 2004-05 prices for the years requested are tabled as follows.
	
		
			   billion 
			   Child benefit  Child tax credit  Child trust fund( 1) 
			 1990-91 7.3   
			 1991-92 7.9   
			 1992-93 8.3   
			 1993-94 8.7   
			 1994-95 8.6   
			 1995-96 8.6   
			 1996-97 8.8   
			 1997-98 8.7   
			 1998-99 8.7   
			 1999-2000 9.7   
			 2000-01 9.8   
			 2001-02 9.8   
			 2002-03 9.8   
			 2003-04 9.7 9.1  
			 2004-05 9.6 11.1  
			 2005-06 9.5 12.1 0.8 
			 2006-07   0.2 
			 (1) Government endowments. 
		
	
	For 2006-07, expenditure on child benefit is expected to be similar to that in 2005-06. No separate forecast is available for child tax credit.

Child Pornography

Si�n James: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 in preventing child pornography from being imported into the UK;
	(2)  what action his Department is undertaking to prevent the import of child pornography into the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: The prohibition on the import of indecent and obscene material which includes child pornography is created by Section 42 of the Customs Consolidation Act 1876 (CCA). This Act places a prohibition on all visual material that is obscene or indecent including any material depicting a child under 16 years of age engaged in any form of sexual activity.
	HMRC will seize imports of child pornography breaching this prohibition under section 139 (1) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA). HMRC annually assesses the effectiveness of our enforcement responsibilities and since 2004 has reported seizure data for child pornography in the HMRC Annual Reports.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projection his Department has made of  (a) the total level of public expenditure and  (b) spending by each Government Department between 2015 and 2020.

Stephen Timms: The Treasury's projections of public spending out to 2055 are available at chapter 5 of the long-term public finance report: an analysis of financial stability which was published alongside the 2005 pre-Budget report. This document can be accessed via the Treasury website.

HM Revenue and Customs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information HM Revenue and Customs shares with  (a) the Department of Work and Pensions,  (b) the Home Office and  (c) the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 23 November 2006
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are bound by a legal duty of confidentiality that restricts them from disclosing information to any third party, including other Government Departments.
	Disclosures of information can only be made by HMRC in the very prescribed circumstances set out in statute. For disclosures to Government Departments these prescribed circumstances will normally be the consent of the person to whom the information relates or where legislation specifically authorises such a disclosure of information, (known as gateways) and HMRC have gateways with each of the Departments referred to in your inquiry.

HM Revenue and Customs

Damian Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many penalty notices sent out by HM Revenue and Customs were rescinded in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Dawn Primarolo: The total number of Self Assessment Penalty Notices issued and cancelled in the years requested were:
	
		
			   Issued  Cancelled 
			 2004-05 1,715,775 233,731 
			 2005-06 1,658,883 190,407

HM Revenue and Customs

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of  (a) the Acting Chairman of HM Revenue and Customs and  (b) the 10 highest paid HM Revenue and Customs staff; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The current cash equivalent transfer value for the acting chairman is 1,704,650.
	The current total cash equivalent transfer value for the 10 highest paid HM Revenue and Customs staff is 5,363,179. Five of these individuals are named in the Annual Report and Resource Accounts and cash equivalent transfer value of their public sector pensions is therefore reported annually. This information is already in the public domain.

Pensions

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria the Government will apply to ascertain whether a person has the right religious credentials to qualify for the Alternatively Secured Pension.

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future of alternative secured pensions.

Edward Balls: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 1056W.

State School Cadet Units

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he had with the Department for Education and Skills on the announcement made on 27 June 2006 on the creation of six new state school cadet units.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Tax and Payroll Advice

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many small companies received direct help with administration of their tax and payroll in 2005.

Dawn Primarolo: Small businesses can obtain formal and informal assistance in complying with their tax affairs from a range of sources including Government Departments and agencies, accountants and other business advisers.
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) provides direct assistance through a number of targeted services to companies of all sizes, including face-to-face advice in 281 Enquiry Centres, a dedicated employers helpline and EmployerTalk events. It is not possible to identify accurately from records held centrally the number of small companies benefiting from these services in any one year.
	The following table gives the number of small businesses receiving direct assistance from HMRC's education and support teams in 2005-06:
	
		
			  HMRC assistance  Number of small businesses 
			 Workshops 75,365 
			 One-to-one meetings 48,696 
			 Exhibitions 19,159

Tax Credits

Michael Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) men and  (b) women in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency were in receipt of tax credit at (i) 30 December 2005, (ii) 30 March 2006, (iii) 30 June 2006 and (iv) 30 September 2006.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available for the dates requested. The following table shows the estimate number of  (a) men and (b) women in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk who were claimants in in-work families with tax credits awards in payment at 5 December 2005 and 3 April 2006.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Men  Women 
			 5 December 2005 6.5 7.7 
			 3 April 2006 6.4 7.8 
			  Note: These estimates based on a 10 per cent. sample of single adults, and a 20 per cent. sample of couples, in tax credits awards. They are therefore subject to sampling uncertainty.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit compliance team staff there were in each year since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Full-time equivalent Claimant Compliance staffing figures are:
	
		
			   Number (around) 
			 2003-04 1,200 
			 2004-05 1,200 
			 2005-06 1,220 
			 2006-07 1,420 
			 2007-08 1,420

UK Payments System

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will bring forward legislation to ensure that the UK payments system is open to new competition as announced in his Budget Statement on 21 March 2000.

Edward Balls: Following Don Cruickshank's report on competition in UK banking, the Chancellor announced in the 2003 pre-Budget report that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) would set up a Payment Systems Task Force to examine UK payment systems. The Taskforce began work in spring 2004 and in September 2006 it reached agreement on a new model for payments systems governance. On 14 November 2006, the Chancellor approved the OFT's recommendation to wind up the Task Force and to proceed with the creation of a new industry-led governing body to deliver improvements in payment systems, which will be reviewed after two years. In line with the Government's better regulation agenda, the creation of this new body does not require legislation.
	On 14 November 2006, I wrote to John McFall in his capacity as Chair of the Treasury Select Committee to inform him of these developments. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Library of the House

Women Pensioners

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women he expects to reach the state pension age  (a) by April 2010 and  (b) after April 2010.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 November 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question asking how many women are expected to reach the state pension age by (a) April 2010 and (b) after April 2010. I am replying in her absence. (102116)
	The number of women within the United Kingdom expected to reach state pension age from April to April each year for 2006/07 to 2030/31 can be seen in the attached table.
	The figures were derived from the latest official national population projections, which are based on the population at the middle of 2004 and were published in October 2005. These projections allow for the change in the state pension age for women from 60 at April 2010 to 65 at April 2020.
	
		
			  Estimated number of women in the UK projected to reach state pension age in years April to April allowed for increase in SPA from age 60 in April 2010 to 65 by April 2020 
			   Females reaching SPA( 1)  (Thousand) 
			 2006-07 416 
			 2007-08 418 
			 2008-09 390 
			 2009-10 374 
			 2010-11 182 
			 2011-12 179 
			 2012-13 177 
			 2013-14 176 
			 2014-15 176 
			 2015-16 176 
			 2016-17 177 
			 2017-18 177 
			 2018-19 176 
			 2019-20 175 
			 2020-21 355 
			 2021-22 366 
			 2022-23 378 
			 2023-24 385 
			 2024-25 392 
			 2025-26 406 
			 2026-27 418 
			 2027-28 430 
			 2028-29 438 
			 2029-30 442 
			 2030-31 441 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest thousand. Derived from 2004-based national population projections for United Kingdom (GAD).  Note: The above figures give estimates for the numbers in the UK population reaching SPA in the financial years shown. They do not include those emigrating from the UK before reaching SPA and who may have entitlement to some UK state pension, but do include those migrating to the UK before SPA and who are resident in the UK on reaching SPA.

Work Force Statistics

Stephen Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the workforce was working  (a) fewer than 16,  (b) 16 to 20,  (c) 21 to 25,  (d) 26 to 30,  (e) 31 to 35,  (f) 36 to 40 and  (g) in excess of 41 hours per week in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 27 November 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about the workforces' usual hours worked per week for each year since 1997.
	(103255)
	The attached table gives the usual weekly hours worked for the requested hourly bands, covering those in employment, for the three month period ending June each year since 1997. Comparable estimates are not currently available for 1998 and 2000.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  People in employment by usual weekly hours of work( 1)  1997, 1999 and 2001 to 2006 United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Three months ending June each year  Total (thousands( 2) )  Under 16 hours per week  16 to 20 hours per week  21 to 25 hours per week 
			 1997 26,356 10.3 6.3 4.5 
			 1999 26,876 9.9 6.6 4.8 
			 2001 27,438 9.1 6.8 5.1 
			 2002 27,617 9.0 7.2 5.2 
			 2003 27,863 9.2 7.2 5.1 
			 2004 28,024 9.0 7.1 5.4 
			 2005 28,193 8.8 7.3 5.4 
			 2006 28,339 8.8 7.1 5.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Three months ending June each year  26 to 30 hours per week  31 to 35 hours per week  36 to 40 hours per week  41 or more hours per week 
			 1997 4.4 6.3 27.1 41.0 
			 1999 4.5 6.2 28.5 39.5 
			 2001 4.6 6.6 29.2 38.6 
			 2002 4.7 6.9 29.5 37.5 
			 2003 5.0 6.8 30.2 36.5 
			 2004 5.2 7.0 31.0 35.1 
			 2005 5.1 7.3 31.3 34.8 
			 2006 5.2 7.2 31.9 34.3 
			 (1 )Main job only. (2) Includes those who did not state the number of hours they worked, but percentages are based on totals which exclude this group.  Note:  Comparable data are not currently available for 1998 and 2000.  Source:  ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in implementing the Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice in Afghanistan; and whether she expects the programme to meet commitments set out in the Afghanistan Compact.

Margaret Beckett: The National Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice, drafted by the Afghan Government in collaboration with UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and adopted by the Afghan Cabinet in December 2005, sets out the Afghan Government's strategy for transitional justice until 2008. It provides for the adoption of five interrelated 'key actions' in order to ensure redress for victims and prevent the future occurrence of atrocities in Afghanistan: public symbolic measures acknowledging the suffering of victims and their families; institutional reform; truth-seeking and documentation; promotion of reconciliation; and the establishment of meaningful and effective accountability mechanisms. The international community reaffirmed their shared commitment to implement the Action Plan at the London Conference on Afghanistan earlier this year.
	The Afghanistan Compact provides that the Action Plan is to be implemented by 2008. While the Action Plan has yet to be formally launched, many of its 'key actions' are linked to progress in other areas, in particular the rule of law and efforts to tackle corruption, which are covered by the Justice for All Action Plan launched in January 2006. Efforts are underway to strengthen judicial institutions, enhance the capacity of key Afghan Ministries and develop a coherent and progressive legal framework, with the adoption in the last year of vital legislation on counter-narcotics, the Office of the Prosecutor, and the jurisdiction and organisation of courts.

Bonus Payments

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was paid in bonuses to civil servants in her Department each year since 2001-02; and how many civil servants received bonuses in each year.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) paid the following bonuses to staff in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   Number of recipients  Bonus element of pay award ()  Devolved bonus scheme of bonuses ()  Total value () 
			 2005-06 5,097 5,589,900 399,200 5,989,100 
			 2004-05 5,094 5,325,300 440,500 5,765,800 
			 2003-04 (1) 5,181,400 385,700 5,567,100 
			 2002-03 5,085 3,720,700 306,400 4,027,100 
			 2001-02 4,753 2,771,800 (1) 2,771,800 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded up to the nearest 100. 
		
	
	The FCO has two categories of bonus awards. The majority are awarded during the annual pay round based on appraisal evidence of performance during the year. The appraisal rating and the rank of the individual determine the size of the bonus. The median bonus payment for delegated grades in 2006 was 900. The average award for staff in the senior management structure was 5,146.
	The remainder are awards under a devolved bonus scheme, which allows Directorates to nominate staff in the delegated grades (particularly the most junior) for smaller bonuses during the year for exceptional contributions above and beyond their normal responsibilities. In financial year 2005-06, the average bonus under this scheme was 395.
	In financial year 2005-06, bonuses comprised 2.4 per cent. of the FCO's total paybill.

Colombia

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the consequences of the recent breakdown of the humanitarian accord talks between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the government of Colombia.

Geoff Hoon: There have been no formal talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (PARC) for over four years. In recent months, both sides have made positive gestures towards a possible humanitarian accord, which gave rise to increased optimism that an exchange of PARC prisoners held by the government for some of the many hostages held by the guerrilla group might take place. But following a succession of PARC attacks against Colombian security forces, including one which left 19 policemen dead, it is now unlikely that a discussion will resume in the short term. We have always maintained that the only solution to the conflict is through a negotiated settlement. We consistently urge illegal armed groups to enter into talks with the government.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the UK Government took  (a) unilaterally and  (b) multilaterally towards ensuring that the General Election in Congo was free and fair.

Ian McCartney: The UK provided 30 million in bilateral support to the election process. UK officials also participated in the elections steering committee, advising the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) on voting procedures, transparency and logistics to assist them in holding free and fair elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	The UK funded Congolese election observation networks and observers sent from the UK, including eight hon. Members in the UK missions, supported the EU Electoral Observation Mission in both rounds of elections. Throughout the electoral process, the UK and international partners pressed candidates and political parties to respect the need to follow the CEI code of conduct and to ensure free and fair elections. We have encouraged any complaints on the conduct of the elections to be made through the appropriate legal channels.

Iran

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations were made by Iran to the EU High Representative during recent P5+1 discussions on the  (a) P5+1 set of proposals agreed in Vienna on 1 June,  (b) conditions of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme and  (c) suspension of nuclear enrichment by Iran as resolved by the UN Security Council; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: On 6 June, the EU High Representative, Javier Solana, presented proposals to Iran on behalf of the 'E3+3' (France, Germany, UK plus China, Russia, US). The proposals are far-reaching and intended as the basis for a long-term agreement. They would give Iran everything it needs to develop a modern civil nuclear power industry, including active support for the building of new light water reactors; co-operation in nuclear research in areas that are not proliferation sensitive and possible provision of a light water research reactor; and legally binding assurances relating to the supply of nuclear fuel.
	In return, the E3+3 asked that Iran should refrain from all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities until international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its programme has been restored. Such activities are not essential for Iran to develop a modern civil nuclear power programme, but would allow Iran to develop know-how that could be used to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. The suspension is a requirement of the International Atomic Energy Agency Board and the UN Security Council.
	The E3+3 proposals would establish a foundation for greater long-term political and economic co-operation between Iran and the international community, by providing assistance with Iran's World Trade Organisation application and a strategic energy partnership and a Trade and Co-operation Agreement with the EU. These benefits would help develop trade and attract foreign investment to Iran. The proposals also offer support for a new conference on regional security issues and the possible lifting of US sanctions in some areas of great benefit to the Iranian economy, including civil aircraft, telecoms and agriculture.
	The E3+3 made clear that in order for talks to begin, Iran would need to address the requirements of the IAEA Board and the UN Security Council, including the requirement that it should suspend all uranium enrichment related and reprocessing activities. We said that if Iran did so, we would be prepared to suspend further action in the Security Council.
	Despite persistent efforts by Dr. Solana, the Iranians declined to engage substantively on the proposals during June and July, including at a meeting in Brussels on 11 July between Dr. Solana (supported by E3 and Russian Political Directors) and the Secretary-General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani (and the full Iranian negotiating team). Dr. Larijani did not ask any serious questions about the proposals, and would not say whether Iran was prepared to suspend uranium enrichment activities. Since it was over three months since the Security Council had asked Iran to suspend and there was no sign that Iran was willing to do so, we decided it was necessary to resume activity in the Security Council. On 31 July, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1696, which inter alia made the suspension legally binding and asked the IAEA to report on compliance by 31 August.
	Iran formally responded to the proposals on 22 August. The lengthy response did not indicate that Iran would be prepared to meet IAEA Board and Security Council
	requirements. The IAEA reported on 31 August that Iran had not reinstated the suspension.
	The E3+3 remain committed to a negotiated solution and have continued to show flexibility. Despite the passing of the 31 August deadline, Dr. Solana had a series of exchanges with Dr. Larijani in September to see if Iran could be persuaded to take the steps that would allow negotiations to begin. Dr. Solana indicated that the E3+3 might be prepared to be flexible about the modalities for opening negotiations if Iran was prepared to meet Security Council and IAEA Board requirements. But after some positive indications in early September, Dr. Larijani told Dr. Solana in Berlin on 28 September that Iran was not prepared to resume the suspension. President Ahmadinejad also said publicly on 28 September that Iran would not suspend 'even for one day'. Iran has also given no indication that it is prepared to meet other IAEA Board requirements, such as the resumption of co-operation with the IAEA on Additional Protocol terms, which was also highlighted in our June proposals.
	I chaired a meeting of E3+3 Foreign Ministers and Dr. Solana in London on 6 October to review the situation. We agreed that Iran's failure to address Security Council requirements left no choice but to consult on the adoption of measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter, as envisaged in Resolution 1696. Consultations on a new Security Council Resolution have now begun. This does not mean the end of our efforts to find a negotiated solution. Ministers made clear in London that the E3+3 proposals remain on the table.
	The IAEA Director-General's latest report on 14 November again confirms that Iran has not taken any steps to reinstate the suspension. Indeed Iran began enriching uranium in a second 164-centrifuge cascade on 13 October. This is a move in the wrong direction. Iran needs to take steps that will build confidence; expanding its enrichment activities in defiance of the IAEA Board and the Security Council will only have the opposite effect.
	I am placing in the Library of the House a copy of the E3+3 proposals and the Iranian reply of 22 August, both of which have been circulated as documents of the Security Council.

Lebanon

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the political and security situation in Lebanon; and what support the UK is providing to the Government of Lebanon.

Kim Howells: The security situation has improved significantly since United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 stopped the conflict. The cessation of hostilities continues to hold and the reconstruction process is underway.
	However, the political situation in Lebanon continues to be unstable with the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel and the resignation of six Shiia members of the Cabinet
	The UK is now focussed on assisting the Government of Lebanon in implementing UNSCR 1701, which provides a political framework for peace. To this end, the UK has committed 2.5 million to provide the Government of Lebanon with security sector assistance to allow it to exercise full control of its territory as called for in UNSCR 1701. As part of this the UK is in the process of giving 47 Land Rovers to the Lebanese armed forces. UNSCR 1701 also called on the international community to take immediate steps to extend its financial and humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people. For its part the UK has contributed 22.3 million in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance.

Middle East

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what work her Department is undertaking to examine economic aspects of the Middle East peace process.

Kim Howells: We remain concerned at the economic situation in the Occupied Territories. The economic aspect of the peace process is important. We continue to call upon both parties to implement the Agreement on Movement and Access and the dismantling of checkpoints and roadblocks. We are also working closely with HM Treasury to take work forward to improve the economic situation. I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary, Ed Balls, gave to him on 1 November 2006,  Official Report, column 541W.

Middle East

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with  (a) Israel and  (b) Syria on the future of the Golan Heights.

Kim Howells: None. The Roadmap remains the internationally endorsed route to a settlement of all three tracks of the Middle East Peace Process. It makes clear that issues such as the Golan Heights are for negotiation. Building momentum on the Palestinian-track in Phase I should lead to progress on all other tracks in Phases II and III. We are fully prepared to support this process, but it is essential that Syria works to support it too and not seek to undermine it by pursuing policies which reduce rather than increase the prospects of peace.

Pakistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what measures the President of Pakistan indicated would be taken to deal with the Taliban and reduce the level of activity across the border into Afghanistan during his meeting with the Prime Minister on 28 September;
	(2)  what representations have been received from the Pakistan government on steps to secure the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; and what UK assistance is being considered.

Margaret Beckett: President Musharraf made clear during his meeting with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 28 September at Chequers, and more recently on 19 November during my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's visit to Pakistan, his continued commitment to combating terrorism, and support for stability in Afghanistan.
	Pakistan has moved considerable resources to the border regions to quell insurgent activity and prevent illegal cross border traffic. In addition the Pakistani authorities continue to arrest significant numbers of Taliban members and where appropriate extradite them to Afghanistan.
	As part of a common effort to counter terrorism, the Government are providing training and capacity building to the Pakistan authorities in their efforts to counter Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan.
	The Government are considering how it might complement the existing US Border Management Initiative, designed to help both the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to manage border issues more effectively, in an effort to further reduce the Taliban threat.
	The Government are supporting a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees project to register Afghans living in refugee camps close to the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. The ID cards project will be a significant tool for wider border management policies.
	The UK also provides a wide range of bilateral and multilateral assistance to Pakistan as an important element in seeking to disrupt the activities of Afghan drug trafficking groups. This includes providing equipment and training, particularly to their Anti Narcotics Force, to assist with interdiction of opiates on the Pakistan/Afghanistan
	border.

Palestine

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on proposals to strengthen Palestinian security forces; and what assessment she has made of  (a) the US's proposals and  (b) the extent to which agreement with the US was reached in such discussions.

Kim Howells: We continue to support US Security Co-ordinator General Dayton's work on strengthening the Palestinian Security Forces. Officials remain in regular contact with General Dayton's team. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with her US counterpart on General Dayton's work.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) today (UIN:
	101959).

Somalia

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with representatives of Somalia's transitional government; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, met the Foreign Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, His Excellency Ismail Mahmoud Hurre, on 1 November following extensive meetings during the United Nations General Assembly in September. Officials from our High Commission in Nairobi also meet representatives of Somalia's Transitional Federal institutions regularly.
	We urge all parties in Somalia to respect the Transitional Federal Charter, honour the agreements concluded in Khartoum and to resolve their differences through dialogue.

Sri Lanka

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government played a role in the hon. Member for Mid-Ulster's recent visits to Sri Lanka to hold discussions with the Tamil Tigers.

Kim Howells: The Government have played no role in the recent visits of the hon. Member for Mid-Ulster (Mr. McGuinness) to Sri Lanka. We understand that he travelled to the country at the invitation of a Sri Lankan non-governmental organisation, the Institute for Political and Conflict Transformation. We welcome efforts by participants in the Northern Ireland peace process to share their knowledge with Sri Lankans.